A New York judge has refused to allow former President Donald Trump's legal team to present legal arguments regarding columnist E. Jean Carroll's rape lawsuit in an upcoming defamation trial, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan filed the ruling Saturday night after a request from former President Carroll's lawyers to bar him from “presenting evidence, conducting interviews, or making arguments” related to the previous trial. . Year, according to For The Daily Beast. (Related: President Trump demands release of January 6th 'hostages')
found playing cards responsible May 2023 after Carroll filed a rape and defamation lawsuit against the former president. The jury found there was not enough evidence to convict Trump of rape, but Carroll was ordered to pay $5 million in damages for defamation and assault.
Kaplan's new ruling is related to a defamation trial scheduled for Jan. 16, in which Carroll is seeking $10 million in damages and possibly more in unspecified punitive damages. . according to Go to AP News. The paper said the jury will consider damages against Mr. Trump for previous comments made by Mr. Trump after last year's verdict and in 2019 after Mr. Carroll publicly accused the former president.
A New York judge says his ruling was based on the fact that President Trump was previously deemed liable for defamation in a 2023 trial, concluding that the rape charges were not relevant, The Daily Beast reported. (Related: The Justice Department paid nearly four times as many taxpayer dollars for the Trump investigation compared to the Biden investigation)
“Whether Mr. Trump forcibly penetrated Carol's vagina with his finger without her consent is… carol ii “Both the jury and the court found that his penis had nothing to do with the injury inflicted on her by his defamatory statements,” Kaplan wrote, the paper reported.
Trump's Lawyers previously requested a postponement of the upcoming trial and asked for additional time to consider alternatives, The Daily Beast reported. But a federal appeals court rejected the request last week, the newspaper reported.
The former president reacted to the ruling Saturday at an event in Iowa, calling Kaplan “He is a “radical Democrat” and said “it's all made up,” according to the Associated Press.
