Longtime advice columnist E. Jean Carroll has taken former President Trump to civil court twice, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damages following a legal battle that began in 2019 when she accused him of sexual assault. won compensation.
Her court success was the result of a complex, multi-year legal battle that included two lawsuits and multiple different courts.
Here's a look back at 10 key moments in the legal battle.
1996: Assault charges occur.
Carroll said she met Trump in the spring of 1996 at Bergdorf Goodman, an upscale department store in midtown Manhattan.
A few years ago, Carol began writing an “Ask E. Jean” column in Elle magazine, which she continued for decades.
Carroll claims the former president noticed her in a store and asked her to help him buy a present for “the girl.” The two quickly made it to the locker room, and once inside, Carroll said Trump sexually assaulted her.
Carroll then confided in two friends: author Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin, a longtime newscaster for CBS in New York City.
E. Jean Carroll speaks to reporters outside a New York courthouse on March 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
June 2019: Carroll comes forward, Trump immediately denies the allegation
June 21, 2019, New York Magazine An excerpt has been published From Carol's upcoming book “What Do We Need Men For?”
“Terrible Men: 23 Years Ago, Donald Trump Assaulted Me in the Bergdorf Goodman Dressing Room. But He's Not the Only One on My List of Terrible Men in My Life,” the headline read. was written, exposing Carol's story to the public for the first time.
Trump denied her claims in a written statement that the White House began distributing hours later.
“I've never met this person in my life. She's trying to sell a new book, which should indicate her motives,” he wrote at the time. “This should be sold in the fiction section.”
The next day, on the South Lawn of the White House, reporters asked President Trump about Carroll's accusations as he stepped out to board Marine One.
Although the former president claimed in his statement that he had not met Carroll, the reporter noted a photo of the two together from the 1980s.
“I'm standing in a line with my coat on and my back to the camera. Give me a break. I have no idea who she is,” Trump replied. “What she did was terrible, what's going on? I mean, this is a total false accusation and I don't know anything about her.”
In this image taken from a video published by Kaplan Hecker & Fink, former President Donald is seen holding a photo that was presented as evidence during his October 19, 2022, deposition. E. Jean Carroll and her then-husband John Johnson are pictured meeting with the Trumps. Ivanka attended an event in the 1980s. (Kaplan Hecker & Fink, via AP)
November 2019: Carroll sues Trump for defamation
On November 4, 2019, Carroll filed a lawsuit against Trump.
Because the statute of limitations had passed, the advice columnist could not seek damages for the alleged assault itself, but instead filed a defamation suit against the former president over his written statement and South Lawn comments. Ta.
The original complaint also cited Trump's interview with The Hill newspaper after Carroll came forward, in which he said, “She's not my type,” and again accused her of denied the story, but the matter was later dropped as part of the lawsuit.
September 2020: Department of Justice intervenes
Almost a year later, on September 8, 2020, the Trump administration's Department of Justice officially got involved, giving President Trump a way out.
Under the Westfall Act, they sought to intervene on behalf of the defendants to prove that Trump made the offending statements within the scope of his duties as president.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, an appointee of former President Clinton, rejected the effort weeks later. The legal battle quickly became chaotic, with the case stalled for years as the Biden administration's Justice Department continued to appeal.
Former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
November 2022: Carroll sues Trump again
Carroll's original lawsuit remains stalled, and New York is one of several states to enact legislation in response to the #MeToo movement, seeking civil damages for sexual misconduct. The claim was revived after the statute of limitations had expired.
After New York's Adult Survivors Act went into effect on November 24, 2022, giving plaintiffs a one-year look back period to bring these claims, Carroll sued Trump again on the same day.
This time, she sought damages for the assault itself. The author also included a new defamation claim for President Trump's denial of her story in October 2022.
Notably, the complaint did not involve any conduct during his time in office, allowing the case to proceed to trial without raising Westfall issues.
May 2023: Jury finds Trump responsible for sexual assault
Trump's various efforts to have Carroll's second lawsuit dismissed failed, and the case went to trial.
On May 9, 2023, a federal jury in New York found Trump responsible for sexual abuse. Carroll also won a defamation lawsuit against Trump and damages totaling $5 million.
Their battle quickly escalated.
The day after the verdict, Trump appeared at a prescheduled CNN town hall and again denied Carroll's story. She began adding these comments to her original defamation lawsuit, which has not yet begun trial.
The former president later countersued Carroll for defamation over his appearance on CNN before Trump's town hall. Under New York state's definition, Carroll had confessed to raping her, even though the jury found her only liable for sexual abuse and not rape.
Judge Kaplan ultimately dismissed Trump's counterclaim, ruling that rape is merely a legal technicality that makes no difference when the public talks about rape.
July 2023: Complex, multi-year legal battle ends with Justice Department appearance, leaving Trump in limbo.
After an escalation that Carroll's lawyer later described as a “tit for tat,” Carroll's original lawsuit began to move forward.
The Justice Department's attempt to intervene has been zigzagging through the courts for nearly three years, involving a panel of federal judges in New York and the entire bench of the Supreme District Court in Washington, D.C.
The case ended without a clear resolution, and the Justice Department reversed course and withdrew from the case on July 11, 2023, leaving President Trump in a bind.
Former President Donald Trump pauses during a speech at a rally at Minden Tahoe Airport on October 8, 2022 in Minden, Nevada (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas, Pool, File)
September 2023: Trump automatically found liable in first lawsuit/defamation suit
On September 8, 2023, Judge Kaplan ruled that Trump is liable for defamation of Carroll, as the previous jury's verdict held that Trump's denials were automatically false and defamatory. .
Although the case gave Carroll a partial victory, the issue of damages will now be left to a jury.
December 2023: Court of Appeals rejects President Trump's attempt to claim immunity
As part of a final strategy to avoid going to trial in the remaining cases, President Trump had begun efforts to assert immunity in the cases on his own, bypassing the Justice Department.
Kaplan ruled that Trump took too long to claim immunity, but the appeals court agreed to hear Trump's appeal quickly before a future scheduled trial.
On December 13, 2023, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Kaplan's decision, clearing the way for a trial.
January 2024: Carol's first defamation case goes to trial.
January 26th, In 2024, a second jury ordered President Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her in June 2019, when she first came forward with her story.
Unlike the first trial, Mr. Trump attended much of the trial, even took the stand in his own defense, and stopped campaigning as he zigzagged between Manhattan federal court and New Hampshire.
“This is not America, this is not America, this is not America,” President Trump said in court the day before the verdict.
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