Judge denies Trump's request for new trial in E. Jean Carroll case

NEW YORK, US - A federal judge in New York on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump’s request for a new trial in the defamation and battery case brought against him by E. Jean Carroll, who was ultimately awarded US$5 million in damages, reported German news agency (dpa).

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in a 59-page decision said there was no "miscarriage of justice” when jurors found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation back in May.

He further concluded that the verdict was not "a seriously erroneous result” as the former president alleged, adding that, upon considering Trump’s arguments, he "found them all unpersuasive”.

"There is no basis for disturbing the jury’s sexual assault damages,” Kaplan wrote. "And Mr Trump’s arguments with respect to the defamation damages are no stronger.”

Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, had accused Trump of raping her in a dressing room at the New York luxury department Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. She initially revealed details of the sexual assault in a book excerpt published in New York Magazine in June 2019.

Carroll also alleged Trump’s 2022 post on Truth Social, dubbing her claims about their encounter "a hoax and a lie” amounted to defamation.

In May, she was awarded US$2 million in compensatory damages and US$20,000 in punitive damages for battery, as well as US$1 million in damages, US$1.7 million for reputation repair, and US$280,000 in punitive damages, for defamation.

Her lawyer, Robbie Kaplan - who is not related to the judge - on Wednesday demanded that Trump comply with the multi-million dollar verdict.

"Now that the court has denied Trump’s motion for a new trial or to decrease the amount of the verdict, E. Jean Carroll looks forward to receiving the US$5 million in damages that the jury awarded her,” Kaplan said in a statement, adding that her client is looking forward to holding Trump "accountable” at a second defamation trial scheduled for January.

She is seeking at least an additional US$10 million in damages.

In requesting for a new trial, Trump noted that jurors found him liable for sexual abuse rather than rape, which is how Carroll has long categorised the decades-old interaction. He contended that awarding Carroll US$2 million in compensatory damages for sexual assault was "excessive” given the conclusion that he did not rape the writer.

Trump also argued that the award for defamation was based on "pure speculation”. - BERNAMA