Trump claims E Jean Carroll ‘fabricated’ sex assault
Donald Trump sharply criticized writer E. Jean Carroll shortly after his lawyers attempted to overturn a $5 million ruling against him for defamation and sexual assault.
“I’ve never met this woman,” Trump declared in New York on Friday. “This is a completely fabricated story by someone trying to sell a book.”
In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and imposed a $5 million (£3.8 million) fine. As his lawyers sought to reverse this decision, Trump was present in court. This case is one of two where Carroll has accused Trump of sexual assault and defamation. He was found liable in both, with the second case resulting in an additional $83 million judgment.
Trump’s denial of the accusations and his claims of not knowing Carroll mirror his previous statements, which contributed to the second trial. “She has been spreading this lie for years,” Trump said. “This whole issue started, like nearly every other case I’ve faced, with the political campaign of Harris, who is struggling.”
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told The New York Times that “all options are on the table” regarding a potential new defamation claim.
The federal appeals court hearing on Friday brought these damaging allegations back into the spotlight as Trump approaches the final stages of his U.S. presidential campaign. During a press conference in the opulent Trump Tower lobby, Trump reiterated his denial of ever having met Carroll and repeated claims that have previously led to legal complications.
“It’s an appeal of a ridiculous verdict of a woman I’ve never met,” he said.
On Friday, Trump’s lawyers sought to appeal the judgment in the first case, arguing before the court that the allegations were “implausible” and that the evidence was “inflammatory” and “inadmissible”.
John Sauer, who is representing Trump, said that Ms. Carroll’s team had presented no physical evidence or eyewitnesses to support her accusations. He called the trial a “quintessential ‘he said she said’ case”.
Mr Sauer also sought to disqualify the testimony of two witnesses who claimed they were similarly assaulted by Trump.
Ms Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, opened her argument by drawing attention back to the heart of the case.
“Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in 1996 in a dressing room in Bergdorf Goodman and then defamed her in 2022 by claiming that she was crazy and made the whole thing up,” she said.
Ms. Kaplan also defended the testimony of the two witnesses and said they were key to establishing a pattern of behavior that supported Ms. Carroll’s allegations.
Trump blamed his lawyers for the jury’s verdict in this case, as they had advised him to avoid appearing in court. He has regularly attended court cases involving him since.
He attended and briefly testified at the second trial.
The hearing is just one of multiple legal hurdles that Trump faces, and he complained about several of them during his press conference on Friday.
He awaits sentencing in a Manhattan criminal trial after he was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to an adult film star.
The judge in that case, Juan Merchan, is expected to make his decision on Friday whether to delay the sentencing until after the election.
