Donald Trump’s legal troubles continue to pile on as the flurry of civil litigation against him remains unresolved. These include defamation lawsuits and appeals, and a second suit brought forward by E. Jean Carroll. In addition to the civil prosecution by the New York Attorney General, Carroll’s litigation has put Trump in a defensive stand.
In the latest development in the Carroll case, Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Trump’s counterclaim against Carroll. The accusations in the counterclaim were related to statements made by Carroll after the jury verdict in the first trial. The original lawsuit, which Carroll had filed in 2019, had suffered delays owing to Trump’s attempts to replace the government as a defendant.
As Trump tried to juxtapose the jury’s verdict as a victory, the court, on the contrary, noted the jury did find Trump guilty of forcibly penetrating Carroll with his fingers, an act that meets the legal definition of rape in multiple jurisdictions. The court went on to brand Trump as a “digital rapist”, a label that was persistently used in the order that dismissed the countersuit and numerous of Trump’s affirmative defenses.
Despite Trump’s attempts to assert absolute presidential immunity for statements made while in office, Judge Kaplan dismissed these claims, observing nothing in the amended complaint would bring validity to the defense. Allegedly, the immunity cards were played only when it became evident that the Department of Justice’s attempt to step into Trump’s legal shoes was failing to hold up.
Ahead, the January 15th jury trial is expected to focus on a narrow set of issues, and should not take long. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, posits that Carroll looks forward to comprising additional compensatory and punitive damages based on the original defamatory statements Trump had made in 2019.
More details and documents about the case can be found at Carroll v. Trump I and Carroll v. Trump II.