Former US president Donald Trump has sued E Jean Carroll for defamation, alleging she falsely accused him of rape after a jury found that he sexually abused her.
Key points:
- Donald Trump is seeking a retraction, compensation and punitive damages
- E Jean Carroll’s lawyer says Mr Trump is just trying to delay accountability
- In May a jury found he sexually abused but did not rape her
In the unusual civil trial-finding in May, the jury decided that he sexually abused and defamed but did not rape the former Elle magazine advice columnist.
Mr Trump’s counterclaim in Manhattan federal court is seeking a retraction as well as unspecified compensation and punitive damages.
Ms Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement that Mr Trump’s filing was “nothing more than his latest effort to delay accountability” for the jury’s verdict.
“Donald Trump again argues, contrary to both logic and fact, that he was exonerated by a jury that found that he sexually abused E Jean Carroll,” Mr Kaplan said.
Mr Trump’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Latest in a series of legal battles
The filing signals that Mr Trump’s multi-front legal fight with Ms Carroll is unlikely to end soon as both sides trade accusations and denials in the media.
Ms Carroll amended the first of her two lawsuits against Trump and sought an additional $US10 million ($15 million) in damages in May, citing his denials during a CNN appearance the day after the verdict.
Mr Trump’s new filings come under that same first lawsuit and cite Ms Carroll’s statements on CNN after the verdict, when she said Mr Trump raped her despite the jury’s finding that he only sexually abused her.
Mr Trump, who is running to retake the White House in 2024 and has a comfortable lead over his Republican rivals, has denied raping Ms Carroll.
He is appealing the verdict, which found he must pay $US5 million in damages.
That first lawsuit, which she filed in 2019 for defamation only, has been bogged down in appeals over whether Mr Trump was immune from being sued because he had been president when he spoke.
Ms Carroll testified that Mr Trump raped her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and then ruined her reputation by calling her a liar when she went public in 2019.
Ms Carroll filed her second lawsuit against Mr Trump for both defamation and sexual assault after New York passed a law giving survivors of sexual violence a window to file civil suits even if the statute of limitations on their claims had passed.
Reuters