Former President Trump on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in New York City as part of a civil defamation lawsuit stemming from a lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store fitting room in the 1990s. Attended court.
Trump visited New York City late Monday night after winning the Iowa caucuses and solidifying his status as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
Exclusive: President Trump plans to appeal E-Jean Carroll civil lawsuit verdict, says he has 'no idea' who she is
E. Jean Carroll (center) appears in court from Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in New York. A jury found Donald Trump responsible for sexually abusing an advice columnist in 1996 and awarded him $5 million in damages, an amount that was lost to former President Donald Trump as he seeks to retake the White House. It could cause trouble for the president. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Trump is expected to testify in his own defense.
“I should be in New Hampshire campaigning and fighting for my country, and I'll be late today, but for now I'll be working on another politically charged case in federal court against Trump haters. “I got to spend time with a radical leftist judge on a “biased witch hunt'' — the day after Iowa and right before the critical New Hampshire primary,” President Trump posted on his Truth social account on Tuesday. “This hoax about a 'bully' judge choosing to have two trials instead of consolidating them into one is shameful and everyone knows it. The judge's former law clerk The government (?) is on the other side.”
President Trump left New York on Tuesday afternoon to hold a rally in New Hampshire, where he said, “There's a huge crowd waiting for us. It's serious!!!”
Former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump applauds during a watch party during the 2024 Iowa Republican Presidential Caucus on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The second trial comes after a federal jury in New York City ruled in May that Trump was not responsible for rape but was responsible for sexual abuse and defamation. The former president was ordered to pay $5 million.
Carroll, 79, alleged that Trump raped her sometime in 1996 at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan. Carroll said the two ran into each other by chance at a store where Trump was trying to buy a gift. For “girls”. She said her man pushed her into her changing room and assaulted her after he asked her for advice and the two of them went shopping for her.
President Trump fails to claim presidential immunity in E-Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit, appeals court rules
Trump vehemently denied the allegations, and as a result of that denial, Carroll slammed Trump with a defamation lawsuit, claiming that Trump's response had damaged her reputation.
Mr. Trump and his lawyers have maintained that Mr. Carroll's claims were fabricated, and the former president's initial reactions included accusations that Mr. Carroll's motive was to sell copies of her book. was.
E. Jean Carroll (C) leaves after her trial at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City on May 8, 2023. E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump's attorney made closing arguments in the battery and defamation case against the former president. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
“I have no idea who this woman is,” President Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview shortly after the jury returned its verdict.
“This verdict is shameful,” he told Fox News Digital at the time. “This is a continuation of the greatest political witch hunt in history.”
The former president told reporters last week that he plans to testify for the defense in the current trial, saying, “I'm going to explain to you that I don't know who the hell she is.”
Carroll, 80, is expected to testify about the damage to her career and reputation caused by President Trump's public comments. She is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a caucus night event at the Iowa Event Center on January 15, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowans voted today in the state's caucuses for the first contest in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination process. Trump is projected to win the Iowa caucuses. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Last May, another jury Awarded $5 million to Carol After concluding that President Trump sexually abused her, publicly revealing it in her 2019 memoir, she defamed him in 2022 by claiming she made it up. The jury said it did not prove that Carroll was raped by Trump.
President Trump posted an image of Carroll's tweets dating back to 2015 on his Truth Social account on Tuesday. In one image, Carroll wrote, “How do you know that an 'unwanted sexual advance' is unwanted until you make it yourself?”
Trump also said that Carroll was “making noise all over the place” about the timing of this alleged 'incident' when it didn't actually happen, and that Robert, the lunatic radical left-wing Democrat operative lawyer who previously sued me,・I am receiving guidance from Mr. Kaplan.'' And I just lost. ”
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“I am the only person injured in this extortion attempt,” Trump wrote.
Nine jurors have been selected for the trial, and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said the trial will likely last three to five days. Testimony begins Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
