Judge Allows E. Jean Carroll To Amend Defamation Case Against Trump To Seek More Damages

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that E. Jean Carroll will be allowed to amend her initial lawsuit against Donald Trump and seek millions of dollars more in damages.

Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, sued Trump while he was still serving as president in 2019. She accused him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.

She wrote a New York magazine article in 2019 exposing Trump, who denied that the encounter ever happened.

Trump claimed that he had never met Carroll, saying that she is “not his type” and that the entire incident was fabricated.

Following these comments, Carroll sued Trump for defamation, saying that his reactions to her article caused her “emotional pain and suffering at the hands of the man who raped her, as well as injury to her reputation, honor and dignity.”

A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of sexual abuse and defamation but did not find that enough evidence substantiated charging him with rape. Carroll won $2 million for sexual abuse and $3 million for defamation, and Trump immediately dismissed the ruling as “a disgrace.”

Now, Carroll is going after Trump in an amendment to her previous defamation lawsuit, where she could win up to $10 million. Her decision was prompted by Trump’s continued defamation of Carroll at a CNN townhall just days after the verdict.

Trump has moved to appeal the verdict in Carroll’s sexual abuse case.

“The Court should order a new trial on damages or grant remittitur because contrary to Plaintiff’s claim of rape, the Jury found that she was not raped but was sexually abused by the Defendant during the 1995/1996 Bergdorf Goodman incident… an award of $2 million for such conduct… is grossly excessive under the applicable case law,” said a filing from Trump’s lawyers last week.

The lawsuit was announced on the same day as Trump’s Miami arraignment. The former president is facing a 37-count charge for his mishandling of classified documents, a conspiracy of obstruction and willful retention of the documents.

“We look forward to moving ahead expeditiously on E. Jean Carroll’s remaining claims,” said Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan.