U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan on Monday rejected a counter defamation lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump against writer E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of sexually assaulting and defaming her. Kaplan stated that Trump's lawsuit should be dismissed as Carroll's statements are "largely true," and Trump failed to demonstrate that she made those remarks with the intent to cause harm.
Trump had sued Carroll for defamation after she said, "Yes, he did, yes, he did" in response to a CNN question regarding a jury's findings that he did not rape her but did sexually assault her. Trump also objected to Carroll's remark to her lawyer, "He did it, and you know it," shortly after the verdict was issued.
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, stated, "We strongly oppose the flawed decision and will file an appeal soon." Meanwhile, Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, indicating that the civil trial set for January 15, 2024, "will be limited to a narrow set of issues and should not take a long time." Both lawsuits stem from Trump's denial of Carroll's allegation that he raped her in a fitting room at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.
