Writer E. Jean Carroll said she is considering suing Former United States President Donald Trump for defamation for his remarks about her during a televised CNN town hall, a day after he was found guilty of sexually abusing and defaming her. Meanwhile, Trump, on Thursday (May 11) appealed the New York jury’s verdict in the civil case against him.
Carroll about Trump’s remarks at the CNN town hall
The CNN town hall, which has since garnered widespread condemnation of the US broadcaster, took place on Wednesday night in New Hampshire where Trump was heard, yet again, insulting and demeaning Carroll and her experience.
During the CNN event, the former president called the account of a sexual assault a “fake” and “made-up story,” while referring to it as “hanky-panky”. The several disparaging comments elicited applause and laughter from the audience which consisted of Republicans and independent voters.
Carroll told the New York Times that the remarks were upsetting and said, “It’s just stupid, it’s just disgusting, vile, foul, it wounds people.” She added, “I am upset on the behalf of young men in America. They cannot listen to this balderdash and this old-timey view of women, which is a cave-man view.”
Meanwhile, her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan told the newspaper, that “we have to give serious consideration to it,” referring to the possibility of a defamation lawsuit. “We have to weigh the various pros and cons and we’ll come to a decision in the next day or so, probably,” Kaplan told the Times.
The nine-member jury in Manhattan federal court delivered its verdict that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her by calling her a liar, on Tuesday, and awarded about $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the writer. However, the former president has since appealed the verdict.
On Thursday, Trump notified the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals that he was appealing the verdict, reported Reuters, as his lawyer Joseph Tacopina previously said he would. After the verdict, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social and called the verdict a “disgrace” and continuation of a “witch hunt” against him.
The former magazine advice columnist who first publicly aired her allegations against Trump in 2019, accused the former president of raping her at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York.
Carroll said after raping her, Trump defamed her when she spoke the truth. Carroll had sued Trump for battery and defamation in a civil trial. Following a two-week trial, Trump was found guilty in the civil case for abuse and defamation but not rape.
Trump, in his deposition, had called Carroll’s allegations as “a false, disgusting lie” delivered by a “nut job” who was trying to stoke sales of her book. After the verdict, a spokesperson for Trump’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign, in a statement, called the case “bogus” and said, “This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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