Judge rules on Trump’s defamed writer in 2019, who had already won a libel lawsuit

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NEW YORK (AP) — Four months after a jury found that Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that other comments about her by the ex-president were defamatory.

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The decision means an upcoming second civil trial will only be about how much more he has to pay Carroll.

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The ruling is expected to significantly simplify the second trial, which is scheduled for January. These are comments made by Trump in 2019 after Carroll first publicly alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a luxury department store in the 1990s, which he denies.

The first trial this spring addressed the sexual assault allegation itself and whether recent Trump comments were defamatory. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million, finding that she had been sexually assaulted, but rejected her claim that she had been raped.

“The jury considered and decided issues common to both cases – including whether Mr. Trump falsely accused Ms. Carroll of fabricating her sexual assault allegation and, if so, whether he did so with knowledge “That allegation was false.” acted with reckless disregard for the truth, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in his ruling Wednesday.

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The judge said the jury’s May verdict, which found that Trump had indeed sexually abused Carroll, effectively proved that his 2019 statements were also false and defamatory.

Carroll and her lawyers “look forward to a trial limited to damages for Donald Trump’s original defamatory statements,” said her attorney Roberta Kaplan.

Trump lawyer Alina Habba said Wednesday that his legal team is confident the jury’s verdict will be overturned, justifying Kaplan’s new decision. Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is also trying to postpone the second trial.