Mar 10, 2024,10:53am EDT
Once again, at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday, former President Donald Trump launched another attack against writer E. Jean Carroll, asserting that he didn’t know her. This move potentially exposes him to further defamation allegations, occurring just one day after he posted a bond exceeding $90 million for a defamation verdict he is currently appealing.
KEY FACTS
During his speech in Rome, Georgia, Trump criticized the verdict in the Carroll case, denouncing it as based on “false accusations” made by “a woman that I knew nothing about.” Trump attributed the legal action against him to “Democrat operatives,” insinuating that Carroll’s lawyers, who are predominantly Democrats, were behind the case and its direction, possibly referencing billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who financially supported Carroll’s legal pursuit against Trump. Trump also disparaged U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the Carroll defamation case, branding him “a disaster.”
BIG NUMBER
Trump posted a bond of $91.6 million earlier in the week for the defamation case involving Carroll.
KEY BACKGROUND
Trump’s remarks on Saturday are part of a pattern of comments he has made following court orders to pay substantial amounts in two separate defamation cases initiated by Carroll. The initial case stemmed from comments Trump made in 2019 after Carroll accused him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman’s dressing room during the 1990s. Trump refuted the allegation, stating he had “never met this person in my life,” and the incident “never happened,” while also dismissing Carroll as “not my type.” In January, a jury ruled against Trump, ordering him to pay Carroll $65 million in punitive damages and $18.3 million in compensatory damages. In an earlier defamation case brought by Carroll against Trump for similar remarks, Trump was directed to pay $5 million in damages. In the first case, which involved allegations of both defamation and sexual assault, the jury sided with Carroll, finding Trump liable for sexually abusing her, though they rejected the claim of rape.
TANGENT
Following the substantial verdict, Carroll’s legal team expressed readiness to pursue further legal action against Trump if necessary. Trump has since made numerous comments about Carroll and the defamation case, both during rallies and on his social media platform, Truth Social.