Months after a jury determined that Donald Trump had both sexually mistreated and defamed columnist E. Jean Carroll, a federal judge declared on Wednesday that additional comments made by the former president about Carroll were indeed libellous. This implies that the subsequent civil trial will be solely focused on determining the compensation due to her.
This new development is anticipated to make the proceedings of the second trial, scheduled for January, more straightforward. This trial revolves around statements Trump made in 2019, in which he denied Carroll’s public assertions that he had assaulted her in an upscale department store dressing room during the 1990s.
Earlier this year, the first trial dealt with the sexual assault claim itself and the question of whether Trump’s subsequent remarks were defamatory. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million, acknowledging the misconduct but not confirming her rape allegations.
In the recent decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan stated, “The jury addressed topics shared between the two cases, such as whether Trump wrongfully claimed that Carroll concocted her assault allegations, and if he did, whether he was either aware of the falsehood or was carelessly indifferent to the truth.”
The May verdict of the jury, which found in favour of Carroll, essentially indicated that Trump’s 2019 comments were both incorrect and slanderous.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney (who has no relation to the judge), commented that they eagerly await the upcoming trial, which will focus on compensation for the initial slanderous remarks made by Trump.
In response, Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, expressed on Wednesday that they remain hopeful about overturning the jury’s decision, which would make the judge’s recent decision void. As the potential 2024 Republican presidential nominee, Trump is also aiming to postpone the forthcoming trial.
E. Jean Carroll’s legal battles against the former president are emblematic of the broader conversations happening in society about accountability and power dynamics. As the nation watches closely, the outcomes of these trials not only hold significance for the parties involved but also echo the importance of due process and the enduring quest for truth and justice in the face of controversy.
