Trump appeals Carroll verdict, possible third defamation lawsuit.

Brandon DreyMay 11, 2023

Trump Appeals Verdict in E. Jean Carroll Case

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team has filed a notice of appeal in New York, contesting the verdict that found him liable for committing battery and defamation against former columnist E. Jean Carroll. The civil trial jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million to Carroll in damages, taking two and a half hours of deliberation before reaching the unanimous verdict earlier this week.

Carroll claimed Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s, but the jury denied the allegation against the former president. According to The Hill, the jury argued Trump was more likely than not to have committed sexual abuse, which allowed them to reach the sexual battery verdict.

Trump’s Team Vows to Keep Fighting

Trump’s team released a statement saying they would appeal the case, which they described as an effort from the Democratic Party to stop the former president’s 2024 campaign. “Trump will never stop fighting for the American people, no matter what the radical Democrats dream up next,” the statement said. “This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.”

Carroll May File Third Defamation Lawsuit

Trump’s appeal comes the same day lawyers for Carroll told The New York Times she may file a third defamation lawsuit against Trump over comments he made during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday night. “Everything’s on the table, obviously, and we have to give serious consideration to it,” Kaplan said. “We have to weigh the various pros and cons and we’ll come to a decision in the next day or so, probably.”

Trump’s Comments Draw Criticism

During the town hall, the former president called the verdict a “fake story” and denied he knew Carroll. “She’s a whack job,” he said. “What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up, and within minutes you’re playing hanky-panky in a dressing room,” Trump said. Carroll responded to Trump’s comments to The Times after reading a portion of the CNN town hall transcript. “It’s just stupid,” Carroll said. “It’s just disgusting, vile, foul — it wounds people.”

Background on the Lawsuits

Carroll sued Trump last November in New York, the same day a new law opened a one-time, one-year window for adult sexual assault survivors outside the statute of limitations to seek civil damages for sexual battery. The defamation lawsuit involved Trump’s comments from a social media post in 2022, denying Carroll’s allegations as a “complete con job” and that she “is not my type.” Carroll initially filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump during his presidency in 2019 over comments he made said when she first made the accusations, which a Washington, D.C. appeals court has held up the case on whether, under local law, Trump should be immune within his role as president.