U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan blocked Trump’s legal team from discussing the assault case, which was determined in May, ahead of the defamation trial brought on by E. Jean Carroll.
The ruling
Judge Kaplan wrote in his ruling, “Defendant and his counsel shall not offer any evidence, conduct an examination, or make any argument relating to Carroll II jury’s determination that plaintiff had failed to prove that defendant’ ra.ed’ her within the meaning of the New York Penal Law.”
Trump talked about the incident in Iowa
During an Iowa rally in early January 2024, Trump called the Judge a “radical Democrat” and mocked Carroll because she did not scream during the attack. Finally, Trump stated, “It was all made up.”
The jury’s May conclusion
In May, the jury found Trump liable for assault and defamation of the former Elle columnist, and she was awarded $5 million in damages. Trump’s legal team requested a new trial, which was denied, and then put on the table the question of presidential immunity and the wording in the verdict.
Carroll’s new lawsuit
Carroll asked for $10 million more following Trump’s CNN interview. Carroll’s team wrote, “It is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will, or spite.” It added, “This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll’s favor both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same.”
Claiming presidential immunity
The former president’s legal advisers argued that the presidential immunity protected Trump because the initial lawsuit cited his remarks from 2019. However, the ruling said Trump “waived the defense of presidential immunity by failing to raise it” earlier in the case. Trump appealed and lost, and this case could reach the Supreme Court.
Trump repeated immunity claims in D.C. and Georgia
On January 8, 2024, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity. I wasn’t campaigning, the Election was long over.” He added, “I was looking for voter fraud, and finding it, which is my obligation to do, and otherwise running our Country,” meaning he was attempting to challenge Jack Smith’s cases in D.C. and Georgia.
Presidential immunity claims in Carroll’s case
In 2019, Carroll published a book, “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal.” In it, she accused the then-president of assaulting her in the mid-90s, which prompted Trump to say in an interview with the Hill, “Totally lying. I don’t know anything about her.” Since Trump was president when he said he never met Carroll, his legal team argued he was protected, but Judge Kaplan’s decision was clear.
The wording issue in Carroll’s case
Judge Kaplan had to explain, “The only issue on which the jury did not find in Ms. Carroll’s favor was whether she proved that Mr. Trump ‘rap..d’ her within the narrow, technical meaning of that term in the New York penal law.”
The explanation
The Judge added that “the New York penal law definition of ra.e is limited to penile penetration,” and “it determined that Mr. Trump forcibly penetrated Ms. Carroll’s private sexual parts with his fingers – which commonly is considered ‘ra.e’ in other context.”
The case should start on January 15
The case was scheduled to begin on January 15. So far, both Carroll and Trump said they will appear during the course of the trial. Trump did not testify in May’s trial, but the jury saw his deposition. In it, Trump called Carroll a “nut job” who was telling a “false, disgusting lie.”
“Not my type”
Trump said, “She’s not my type,” but he mistook her in one of the pictures for his second wife, Marla Maples. His lawyer, Alina Habba, interjected, “No, that’s Carroll.” Carroll’s lawyer said, “The person you just pointed to was E. Jean Carroll,” and Trump repeated, “That’s Carroll?”
Trump’s Truth Social posts
The New Republic wrote that Trump “shared stories from conservative outlets attacking” Carroll in early January. They noted he shared 31 stories in 30 minutes “to paint her as some sort of sexual deviant.”
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