Donald Trump appeals verdict in E. Jean Carroll case
The appeal comes as Trump continues to deny both the jury's findings and that he ever met Carroll in the first place.
LEARN MOREMay 23, 2023
E. Jean Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in new damages against former President Donald Trump over comments he made at a CNN town hall earlier this month.
Attorneys for Carroll filed an amended complaint Monday in Manhattan court, claiming Trump "doubled down" on derogatory remarks about Carroll when he publicly accused her of lying about being sexually assaulted by him at a New York City department store in the 1990s. During the town hall, Trump repeatedly denied having ever met Carroll, calling her a "whack job." His comments came just one day after a jury unanimously found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a separate civil suit. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages as a result of the verdict.
Monday's court filing amends a 2019 suit, which is still tied up in courts, over separate comments Trump made about Carroll during his time as president. The new filing argues that Trump's recent town hall remarks "demonstrate his personal motive in defaming" her "long after his presidency had ended."
"It is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will, or spite," Carroll's lawyers wrote. "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."
Carroll's attorneys asked the judge for a prompt decision "while she remains in good health" and before Trump is entirely tied up by his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump attorney Alina Habba called the new filing an "11th-hour attempt" by Carroll that exposes the "true motivation behind her numerous lawsuits."
