Former President Donald Trump is set to return to a federal courthouse in New York City for a trial to determine the damages he owes columnist E. Jean Carroll after being accused of defaming her once again.
This trial follows a ruling by Judge Lewis Kaplan four months ago, where Mr. Trump was found to have defamed Ms. Carroll when he denied sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s. Ms. Carroll had initially come forward with the allegations during Trump’s presidency, to which he responded by saying, “She’s not my type.”
The upcoming trial will specifically address the damages owed by Mr. Trump for the defamatory statements he made. This decision was made by Judge Kaplan after a separate defamation trial where Mr. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The earlier trial focused on statements made by Trump on Truth Social in 2022, where he dismissed Ms. Carroll’s rape allegations as “a Hoax and a lie.”
After Ms Carroll’s grueling testimony about President Trump’s assault, the jury in that case found that President Trump was liable for sexual abuse (not rape) as well as defamation and awarded Ms Carroll $5m.
Judge Kaplan ruled that because the 2019 statements are “substantially the same” as the 2022 statements, this trial and case are limited to the issue of damages only. Now Ms Carroll must show a jury what damages, if any, President Trump owes her for claiming he had never met her, that she was not his type and that her allegations of rape were false.
So far, President Trump’s legal team has sought to dismiss or delay the case by countersuing, claiming the jury’s awards were excessive, saying he had presidential immunity and more.
Up till now, Judge Kaplan and a US Court of Appeals have denied those requests. Judge Kaplan has also made it clear to President Trump’s legal team that they may not present evidence challenging the facts of the case that have already been determined by a jury in the case last year.
The former president said that he will attend opening statements at the New York City courthouse on Tuesday. He also told reporters he would go “To explain I don’t know who the hell [Ms Carroll] is” – a claim he has often made about the columnist.
Ms Carroll’s lawyer has asked Judge Kaplan to limit what President Trump may testify about to prevent him from speaking contrary to the facts of the case which have already been determined.
The trial is set to begin at 9.30am on Tuesday.
