Former President Donald Trump’s comments during his controversial CNN town hall this month could cost him more money and further legal troubles.
E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded $5 million in damages by a jury from Trump, is now seeking at least an additional $10 million in response to his “outrageous” remarks during his May 10 CNN appearance Are. The primetime program aired just one day after a Manhattan jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation of Carroll.
the former Eli The columnist alleged in the lawsuit that Trump assaulted and raped her in a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case and is appealing the May 9 decision. Trump has repeatedly stated that he “has no idea” who Carroll is and called her allegations an “act of theft”. The jurors found him not liable for rape.
newsweek TechCrunch has contacted Trump representatives via email for comment.
Writer E. Jean Carroll leaves the Manhattan Courthouse after a jury found former President Donald Trump liable for sexual assault at a Manhattan department store on May 9, 2023 in New York City. Trump’s comments about Carroll during his CNN town hall a day after the verdict could set him up for a more legal battle.
Spencer Platt / Getty
The night after the verdict was announced, Trump made his first CNN appearance in years for a town hall hosted by CNN anchor Kaitlyn Collins. The incident drew criticism and calls to boycott the news network over its decision not to cancel the broadcast. During the town hall, the former president was asked about the lawsuit and reiterated his claim that he had never met Carroll and that her allegations were “fake” and a “made up story”.
Discussing Carroll’s decision, Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, said his “polling numbers went up” despite the allegations. He also complained that the judge did not allow his legal team to tell the jury that Carroll’s “cat’s name was Vagina” and referred to the alleged rape as “hanky panky”.
“What kind of woman meets somebody, and brings them in, and within minutes you’re in the dressing room playing hanky panky,” Trump said during a CNN appearance. He said he felt “sorry” for Carroll’s ex-husband John Johnson.
Carroll is seeking a “very substantial” amount of at least $10 million in the Monday filing, which is an amendment to a separate defamation lawsuit filed against Trump in 2019. That civil lawsuit, which is pending, stems from comments he made the year before she went public with her allegations that he raped her in the 1990s.
The updated complaint states that Trump’s comments “reflect the depth of his hatred toward Carroll, as it is difficult to conceive of defamatory conduct that could possibly be motivated by hatred, malice or malice.”
“This conduct warrants a very significant punitive damages award in favor of Carroll to punish Trump, deter him from engaging in further defamation, and deter others from doing the same,” the filing said.
The filing also said that nearly 3.3 million people watched the CNN town hall and heard viewers “applauding and laughing at Trump’s comments.”
Roberta Kaplan, the attorney representing Carroll in the civil case against Trump, warned the former president against continuing to discredit her client.
Kaplan said she was “appalled” during Trump’s CNN appearance because he used “exactly the language” for which she was found responsible.
Kaplan said, “They’ve basically repeated the defamation in ways that make it very easy for us not to prove a future case on the merits, because of what we call collateral estoppel or issue resolution.” “So maybe it wasn’t the wisest thing for him to do.”
