Trump to Be Hit With Second Round of Lawsuit by Woman Claiming Rape

November 21, 2022 by Tom Ramstack
Trump to Be Hit With Second Round of Lawsuit by Woman Claiming Rape
Former President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

WASHINGTON — An advice columnist who accused Donald Trump of raping her before he was president plans to refile her defamation lawsuit against him this week and add a new legal claim.

The new claim of battery results from the sexual assault that E. Jean Carroll says Trump inflicted on her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s.

She seeks compensation for what she says is damage to her reputation as a journalist after Trump called her a liar.

Carroll added the battery allegation as her lawsuit for defamation faces increasingly dim chances of success.

Last week, Trump pushed back with support from the Justice Department by urging the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to dismiss the lawsuit.

He argued that his comments about Carroll were a response to media inquiries while he performed his official duties as president. As a matter of federal law, presidents are immune from liability for their official actions.

“The president’s ability to effectively deal with personal accusations (which typically affect any president) was part and parcel of his position as chief executive of the United States,” Trump argued in a legal brief.

Federal court precedent has traditionally sided with public officials who claim immunity from defamation lawsuits based on their public comments.

The Justice Department agreed in a separate legal brief that Trump should be immune from the lawsuit but added that it did not agree with his comments.

Trump’s statements “were without question unnecessary and abhorrent,” the Justice Department wrote but added that they should be tolerated because they dealt with his fitness to hold office.

“When reporters ask the mayor (or the president or a member of Congress) to respond to serious public allegations of wrongdoing, their questions are posed to that official in her capacity as an elected official accountable to the public,” the Justice Department said.

“Likewise, when the mayor (or the president or member of Congress) responds to reporters’ questions with denials of wrongdoing, she acts within the scope of her public office.”

Caroll’s attorney revealed plans to modify the lawsuit in a court filing last week.

Attorney Roberta A. Kaplan said the amended lawsuit would be filed Thursday. It would revive the defamation claim based on statements Trump made after he left office.

One of them was last month, when Trump again accused Carroll of lying in a social media post and called her “a complete con job.”

The refiled lawsuit’s claim of battery is allowed under a new state law in New York called the Adult Survivors Act. It offers adult sexual assault victims an opportunity to sue years after the attack, despite the fact the statute of limitations otherwise would have extinguished any opportunities for a lawsuit.

The Adult Survivors Act opens a time frame for the lawsuits that begins this week on Nov. 24.

Carroll, now 78, wrote in a 2019 book titled “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal” that Trump raped her after they met at the Bergdorf Goodman luxury department store in New York City. She said he pushed her against a wall, pulled down her tights, opened his pants and forced his way into her.

At the time, she wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle magazine.

Trump denied ever meeting Carroll when he first called her a liar.

The lawsuit is Carroll v. Trump in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Tom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @tramstack.

A+
a-
  • Donald Trump
  • lawsuit
  • Litigation
  • new legal claim
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Litigation

    March 28, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Disney World Settles with Florida After Its Opposition to 'Don’t Say Gay' Law

    ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis... Read More

    ORLANDO — The company that runs Walt Disney World reached a settlement Wednesday with appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who were exerting controversial regulatory control over the huge tourism complex. The settlement resolves some of the disputes that arose after Disney officials publicly denounced the... Read More

    March 14, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Jewish Group Sues UN Relief Agency Saying It Supports Hamas Terrorism

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Jewish advocacy group sued a United Nations relief agency Wednesday in Delaware for allegedly helping Hamas... Read More

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Jewish advocacy group sued a United Nations relief agency Wednesday in Delaware for allegedly helping Hamas in its war with Israel and the murders of Israelis and Americans. The National Jewish Advocacy Center says U.N. relief workers who were supposed to be... Read More

    New York AG Says She’ll Seize Trump’s Property if He Can’t Pay $454M Civil Fraud Debt

    NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could be at risk of losing some of his prized properties if he can’t... Read More

    NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could be at risk of losing some of his prized properties if he can’t pay his staggering New York civil fraud penalty. With interest, he owes the state nearly $454 million — and the amount is going up $87,502 each day until... Read More

    February 16, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Environmentalists Sue EPA for Data on Health Risks of Forever Chemicals

    WASHINGTON — Environmentalists sued the Environmental Protection Agency this week in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking information about health... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Environmentalists sued the Environmental Protection Agency this week in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking information about health risks from forever chemicals in fluorinated plastic containers. The two groups that sued accuse the EPA of withholding information about PFAS. They are called forever chemicals... Read More

    February 6, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    DC Appellate Court Rejects Trump's Immunity Claim

    WASHINGTON — A court of appeals in the District of Columbia has rejected former President Donald Trump’s claim that he... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A court of appeals in the District of Columbia has rejected former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution for allegedly interfering in the 2020 presidential election. In a unanimous, 57-page ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of... Read More

    February 1, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Trump Lawsuit Over Steele Dossier Dismissed by Judge in London

    LONDON, U.K. — A judge in London dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that former President Donald Trump filed against the British... Read More

    LONDON, U.K. — A judge in London dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that former President Donald Trump filed against the British intelligence agent who wrote the "Steele Dossier" describing his questionable links to the Russian government. Trump’s lawsuit called the accusations lies that hurt his reputation. Judge... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top