Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing several lawsuits and investigations, with more on the way. Some are legal actions resulting from his pre-presidential business affairs.
Others are defamation lawsuits filed by the women he allegedly attacked.
Do you know what is defamation lawsuit?
One of the parts of intentional torts is a defamation lawsuit, defined as any intentionally false claim published in writing or verbally that damages a person’s reputation, undercuts the public’s confidence in them, or inspires unfriendly or hostile sentiments about them.
This blog is about the defamation lawsuit Donald Trump, then-president of the United States is involved in.
In November 2019, Carroll, a writer, author, and advice columnist from the United States, filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Trump in the New York court.
But why would the American writer accuse Donald Trump in a defamation lawsuit? How has Trump responded to the situation? Let’s look at it.
What is E. Jean Carroll asserting?
In her 2019 article, “What Do We Need Men For?” Carroll accuses Donald Trump of sexually harassing her in the mid-1990s. But Trump denied the accusations.
According to the article, she recognized Donald Trump as the “real estate billionaire,” and he informed her he was looking for a gift for “a girl.”
She claims they rushed to a dressing room and accused him of raping her. Mr. Trump and Ms. Carroll were both in their fifties at the time, and he was married to Marla Maples.
Ms. Carroll claims she told two friends about the alleged assault, one of whom suggested contacting the police. But she claims the other instructed her not to tell anyone, saying: “Forget about it! He employs 200 attorneys. He’s going to bury you.”
How did Trump respond?
“I have never met this person in my life,” Trump declared. “She is attempting to promote her new book, which must reveal her motive.
However, a photo of Mr. Trump and Ms. Carroll together at an NBC party around 1987 was featured in the New York magazine piece.
When questioned about the photograph, Mr. Trump stated: “Give me a break, I’m standing in line with my coat on, with my back to the camera. I’m not sure who she is.”
He continued: “There’s a photo of us shaking hands at what appears to be an event. I’m wearing my coat, and my wife is beside me. I didn’t know her husband, but he was a newscaster. But I’m not sure who she is.”
Mr. Trump urged anybody with knowledge of the Democratic Party’s involvement with Ms. Carroll or New York magazine to contact the White House.
He accused the magazine of “peddling fake news” and described it as a “failed enterprise.”
“Shame on people who fabricate false accusations of assault to gain fame, sell a book, or advance a political goal,” he stated.
“It’s just as awful for people to accept it, especially when there’s no evidence,” he continued.
Mr. Trump complimented Bergdorf Goodman in his statement. The reported event occurred in this upscale New York departmental shop, for “confirming they had no camera evidence of any such occurrence.”
Trump allegedly told a reporter that he had never met Carroll, that “she’s not my type,” and that she made up the rape story to help promote her book.
Carroll then filed her defamation lawsuit.
Donald Trump questioned in the biggest defamation lawsuit?
A federal judge in Manhattan denied Trump’s lawyers’ request to postpone the deposition. In contrast, a federal district court in Washington, D.C., considers whether the action should be dismissed outright.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered that Trump must answer questions from Carroll’s lawyer under oath. Trump’s administration scheduled Carroll’s deposition for Friday.
Kaplan announced his judgment that Trump, 76, Carroll, 78, and other witnesses were “already of old age” and that Trump “should not be allowed to run the clock out” on the case.
On Wednesday (19th October), Donald Trump testified under oath in a defamation lawsuit filed by E Jean Carroll.
According to Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, “Today, my client was happy to clear the air. This lawsuit, like many others on the lengthy history of witch hunts against Donald Trump, is nothing more than a political tactic.”
In a statement, Trump labeled the allegation a “total hoax.”
“I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it appears she took a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a famous charity event,” Trump stated.
Anything Trump says during his deposition might be used as evidence in a civil trial in the future. He has not been charged criminally with Carroll’s accusations; a trial is unlikely.
What about a DNA test?
“Donald Trump refuses to give his DNA to clear himself of a rape accusation against Jean Carroll”.
Jean Carroll’s attorneys sent a notice to a Trump attorney, demanding Trump to provide a sample in Washington on March 2 for “analysis and comparison against unidentified male DNA found on the garment.”
Roberta Kaplan, her lawyer, had the black wool coat-style outfit tested. According to the test report included with the legal notification, the DNA detected on the sleeves was a combination of at least four persons, at least one of whom was male.
According to the lab report acquired by The Associated Press, many additional persons were examined and dismissed as probable contributors to the combination.
The Associated Press could not reach Trump’s counsel for comment.
According to the court documents, Trump was never obliged to provide a DNA sample in the case. On February 6, 2023, the defamation lawsuit is set to trial in Manhattan’s federal court.
Trump’s defamation lawsuit update 2023
March 2023
On March 10, 2023, a U.S. court denied Donald Trump’s request to remove a recording from “Access Hollywood” in which he made crude remarks about women from a defamation suit filed by the writer E. Jean Carroll. Carroll attempted to use the 2005 recording of Trump boasting about forcing himself on women as evidence that he was prone to similar sexual assaults to what he has allegedly done to her.
May 2023
Ms. Carroll’s case resulted in the jury holding Trump accountable for both sexual abuse and defamation. As per the court’s ruling, Trump has been directed to compensate Ms. Carroll with $2 million for the sexual abuse and an additional $3 million for the defamation.
Following her victory in the sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit, Ms. Carroll is now pursuing a significantly higher amount in response to the offensive remarks made by Donald Trump during a CNN program the day after the trial.
Is Carroll the only woman who has accused Trump of sexual misconduct?
No, Several women have accused former U.S. President Donald Trump of inappropriate sexual conduct and misbehavior.
His allegations include beauty queens, models, and political workers dating back to the 1980s. Some of the claims are as follows.
Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks Vs. Donald Trump
Claims: Ms. Leeds, 74, of Manhattan, filed a personal injury claim against Mr. Trump that he molested her in the first-class cabin on a trip to New York in the early 1980s.
She told the New York Times in October 2016 that approximately 45 minutes after takeoff, Mr. Trump raised the armrest and began touching her. “He was like an octopus. His hands were everywhere,” she described the incident as “an assault.”
Ms. Leeds, then 38, claims she went to the standard-class cabin after leaving her first-class seat.
When Ms. Crooks, from Ohio, introduced herself outside a lift in 2005, she claimed Mr. Trump kissed her on the cheeks and the mouth. Ms. Crooks was a 22-year-old receptionist for Bayrock Group, a real estate business headquartered in Trump Tower at the time.
“I was so upset that he believed I was so insignificant that he could do that,” she told the New York Times.
Trump’s response: His lawyer threatened to sue the New York Times, calling the charges “false and spiteful.”
Temple Taggart Vs. Donald Trump
Claim: Ms. Taggart told the New York Times in May 2016 that when she was 21, she was Miss Utah, and Mr. Trump kissed her without her consent.
Other additional candidates from Mr. Trump’s Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss USA Teen pageant families allege similar inappropriate behavior. Some of these assertions were made under the guise of anonymity.
Trump’s response: Ms. Taggart’s assertion was refuted by Mr. Trump, who told the newspaper that he is hesitant to kiss strangers on the lips. He informed NBC News that he couldn’t recall her.
Mr. Trump’s campaign did not specifically address the other charges.
Summer Zervos Vs. Donald Trump
Claim: Ms. Zervos, a former Apprentice candidate, claimed Mr. Trump sexually assaulted her in 2007 after inviting her to explore career options.
According to Ms. Zervos, he tried to bring her into the bedroom and “began pushing his genitals,” but she refused his advances.
He then started chatting to her as if they were in a job interview, she continued, and she was later offered a low-paying job at Mr. Trump’s golf property.
Trump’s response: Mr. Trump’s campaign claimed he “vaguely remembers” Ms. Zervos but that the hotel meeting did not occur.
“The media is now producing a theatre of nonsense that threatens to rip our democratic process apart and poison the minds of the American public,” he said.
Cathy Heller Vs. Donald Trump
Claim: Ms. Heller told the Guardian in October 2016 that she briefly met Mr. Trump during a Mother’s Day brunch at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 1997.
She claims she extended her hand for a handshake, but he “grabbed” it in an attempt to kiss her. He replied, “come on,” and kissed the side of her mouth as she pulled back to avoid him.
Ms. Heller was a Hillary Clinton supporter, but her family and friends, including several who attended the Mother’s Day brunch, have come out to support her story.
Trump’s response: “There is no way that something like this could have happened in a public location on Mother’s Day at Mr. Trump’s property,” Mr. Trump’s stated in a statement.
Juliet Huddy Vs. Donald Trump
Claim: The former Fox News personality said in December 2017 that Mr. Trump attempted to kiss her in 2005 or 2006.
The incident, which occurred in an elevator in Trump Tower, surprised Ms. Huddy but did not make her feel frightened, she said.
Mr. Trump’s response: He has not replied directly to Ms. Huddy’s charges.
However, Ms. Huddy claims that Mr. Trump later laughed about the event on her show, stating, “I tried hitting on her, but she threw me off.”
Karena Virginia Vs. Donald Trump
Claim: Ms. Virginia, a yoga instructor, and life coach made her charges public in October 2016 during a press conference.
She says that Mr. Trump approached her with a group of guys after leaving the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York, in 1998.
Ms. Virginia claims that while walking behind her, he made remarks about her beauty and remarked, “Hey, look at this one.” Mr. Trump is accused of grabbing her arm and touching her private parts.
Mr. Trump reacted to Ms. Virginia’s recoil by asking her, “Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who I am?”
“I felt intimidated and powerless,” Ms. Virginia explained. “I was embarrassed to wear a short dress and high heels.”
Mr. Trump’s response: His campaign spokesperson, at the time, described the allegation as “another planned, publicity-seeking hit,” implying that the Clinton team was involved.
Alva Johnson Vs. Donald Trump
Claim: Ms. Johnson, a former Trump campaign worker, says that Trump forcefully tried to kiss her after a rally in August 2016.
She told the Washington Post that when she filed the claim in February 2019, she “felt violated since I wasn’t expecting or desiring it.”
“I can still see his lips moving toward my face,” she continued.
In June 2019, a federal judge in Florida dismissed her complaint. Judge William Jung concluded that the lawsuit contained details of 19 other alleged incidents of Mr. Trump’s sexual misconduct and was nothing more than a political statement.
Mr. Trump’s response: Ms. Johnson’s claims were denied by Mr. Trump and the White House.
The accusation was then dismissed by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders as “absurd on its face,” adding, “This never happened and is explicitly disproved by many extremely reliable eyewitness testimonies.”
Will Carroll’s defamation lawsuit soon be resolved?
Undoubtedly not. Adult victims of sexual assault in New York State now have a one-year window to file civil cases against their accused attackers, regardless of how long the alleged crimes occurred.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, alerted the judge last month that her client intends to bring such a complaint on November 24, when the one-year window opens. Kaplan stated that she would request that the two cases be tried together in early 2023.
The first lawsuit’s trial is set to take place on February 6, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, although it will probably be postponed due to the appeals procedure.
“The question of whether Mr. Trump raped Ms. Carroll is central to this case, and it will very surely be important to the new lawsuit, which will almost certainly be brought on November 24, 2022, or shortly afterward,” the judge concluded. “As a result, whether or not the rape happened is crucial in both cases.”
Let’s wait till the subsequent trial to see what happens. We can only hope that the facts are established. For more information on litigation, such as Carroll’s defamation lawsuit, please visit our website, LezDo TechMed, one of the top medical records review firms.
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