Sept. 6 (UPI) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that former President Donald Trump is liable for making false statements about writer E. Jean Carroll in 2019 after she alleged that he sexually assaulted her.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Trump acted with actual malice in making statements about Carroll when she charged that Trump assaulted her years ago. A trial set for Jan. 15 will only determine how much Trump owes her in light of the summary judgment.
Kaplan presided over the May civil trial where a jury found Trump was liable for the assault and for defaming Carroll by claiming that she was lying about the incident for financial gain.
“[T]he jury found that Mr. Trump knew that his statement that Ms. Carroll lied about him sexually assaulting her for improper and ulterior purposes was false or that he acted with reckless disregard to whether it was false,” Kaplan said in his ruling.
“Whether Mr. Trump made the 2019 statements with actual malice raises the same issue.”
The Jan. 15 trial will resolve Carroll’s initial lawsuit against Trump, which had been initially delayed due to concerns over immunity.
While awaiting the first trial, Carroll filed a second case against Trump in 2022, known as Carroll II, which led to the May decision.
Trump has appealed the $5 million verdict from the second trial that ordered him to pay $2 million in compensation and $20,000 for battery, $1.7 million for reputational repair, $1 million for compensatory damages and $280,000 in punitive damages.
Alina Habba, the attorney representing Trump, said Kaplan will not have the final decision in the case, citing the appeal.
“We remain very confident that the Carroll II verdict will be overturned on appeal which will render this decision moot,” Habba said, referring to the second Carroll case.
Carroll’s attorney Robert Kaplan — no relation to the judge — said Carroll is prepared to move ahead.
“We look forward to trial limited to damages for the original defamatory statements Donald Trump made about our client E. Jean Carroll in 2019,” Kaplan said.
