Second Trump Defamation Trial Brought by E Jean Carroll set for January 2024 – A new defamation trial brought by E Jean Carroll, a New York writer who recently secured a $5 million jury verdict against Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defamation, has been scheduled by a federal judge.
US district judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan has determined that the civil trial, where Carroll aims to obtain a minimum of $10 million in damages, will commence on January 15, 2024, unless the case has been resolved in its entirety prior to that date. The schedule brings forth the possibility that Trump may face the challenge of defending himself in three trials in the early months of next year, while simultaneously pursuing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, a race where he is now the frontrunner.
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Federal prosecutors in Florida have brought criminal charges against Trump, accusing him of mishandling classified documents, while Manhattan’s district attorney has charged him with concealing hush-money payments to an adult film star. Trump has pleaded not guilty in both cases. US district judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing Trump’s Florida criminal case, issued her first order since the former president’s arraignment this week.
Judge Cannon instructed defense attorneys to expedite the process of obtaining security clearances by contacting the Justice Department, indicating her intent to proceed with the proceedings swiftly. Roberta Kaplan, the attorney representing Carroll (not related to the judge), stated that her client is eager to proceed expeditiously with her claims. Neither a lawyer nor a spokesperson for Trump immediately responded to requests for comment.
Carroll alleges that Trump defamed her in June 2019 by denying that he raped her in the mid-1990s in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, and by stating that she was not his “type.” Last month, a Manhattan jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for defamation and sexual abuse in a separate lawsuit, stemming from Trump’s similar denial in October 2022.
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Judge Kaplan granted permission to Carroll on Tuesday to revise her lawsuit concerning Trump’s 2019 remarks, allowing her to include more recent comments made by Trump during his appearance on CNN. Following the $5 million verdict, Trump referred to Carroll’s allegations as “fake” and referred to her as a “whack job” during a town hall meeting the following day.
