Did Trump defame E. Jean Carroll again?

A second jury quickly awarded Carroll $83.3 million. But apparently that wasn’t enough to stop President Trump.

And experts say Trump is now at risk of another major civil judgment against him.

President Trump agreed to secure $91 million bond In the second case, they renewed their attacks on Carroll. Now, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, is hinting that a third lawsuit may be forthcoming.

“In most jurisdictions, the statute of limitations for defamation is one to three years,” Kaplan said in a statement to The Washington Post. “As we said after the previous jury verdict, we continue to monitor every statement Donald Trump makes about our client, E. Jean Carroll.”

Trump’s recent comments are similar to those he made at a CNN town hall in May 2023, and there are many similarities to those for which he was initially held responsible.

“I just posted $91 million in bail — $91 million is a completely fabricated false story,” President Trump said Saturday at a rally in Rome, Georgia. “The $91 million was based on false accusations about me,” he added. A woman I knew nothing about, didn’t know, and had never heard of. She doesn’t know anything about her. ”

Trump said on CNBC Monday morning:

If I don’t win the appeals of these ridiculous decisions… including Miss Bergdorf Goodman, I will never – I never will – have no idea who she is. Except for one thing: I got sued. From that point on, I said, “Wow, that’s crazy, what is this?” I have been charged. I was wrongly convicted and had to pay $91 million in bail.

Trump is nothing if not a master of repetition. But when it comes to derogatory comments, it’s not so good.

Trump’s line about “Miss Bergdorf Goodman” (a reference to the department store where the first jury found Trump sexually abused Carroll) echoes a disparaging statement from October 2022.

President Trump’s statement regarding “false charges”[s]” appeared in multiple comments deemed defamatory, including on June 21 and 22, 2019. In a 2022 statement, he called Carroll’s claims “the work of a fraudster” and “disinformation and lies.”

Trump’s line about not knowing Carol echoes each of the comments above.

President Trump also appeared to say on Monday that he had “never met” Carroll, something he said in June 2019 (the two are pictured together). There is also photographic evidence).

The striking similarities between Mr. Trump’s comments were cited by the judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, in finding Mr. Trump responsible for the second time.

“among them [October 2022] Similar to his 2019 statement, Mr. Trump denied Ms. Carroll’s accusations, said he did not know her, and claimed that she had fabricated the accusations for unfair and improper purposes.” No Kaplan wrote.

(Given the legal dispute over whether Carroll can sue Trump for his comments as a sitting president, Trump may actually be held accountable for his 2022 comments before his 2019 comments.) I owed it.)

The only important element that President Trump has not repeated in recent days is that Carroll may have had ulterior motives, such as selling books, and that Trump said in 2019 and 2022 that she was It’s not my type.”

Defamation lawsuits typically require not only that a comment was false, but also that it was provided with “actual malice,” that is, knowing it to be false or reckless with the truth. and showing that the plaintiff was injured as a result of the comment. comment.

By repeating such statements even after Trump has been found responsible, the first hurdle appears to be easily cleared. The second depends on whether Carol can prove that her latest comment hurt her in some way.

Defamation experts said Mr. Carroll would have a strong case.

“I don’t think this is a close call,” Don Herzog of the University of Michigan Law School said in an email response to questions. It should be an easy win.” “He doesn’t need to use the words ‘she’s lying’ to call her a liar. It’s enough that he describes her accusations as false. ”

Defamation attorney Tre LaBelle added that if Trump continues to make such statements, the punitive damages could be even higher, possibly in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The $83.3 million judgment followed a previous $5 million judgment, only a portion of which was for defamation.

“The fact that Mr. Trump continues to speak out shows that the previous ruling was not enough to deter future defamation attempts,” LaBelle added, adding, “Mr. Trump’s lawyers… “Mr. Trump will argue that he has already been compensated for emotional distress and general damages, or that damages have already been paid,” he added. This is all old news, so no new damage will be done to her. However, this does not affect the punitive damages aspect, which can be very significant. ”

Trump’s continued attacks on Carroll are especially perplexing given the financial difficulties he clearly faces. In addition to posting $91 million bail, he faces more than $400 million in restitution in a financial fraud case in which he was also responsible. His lawyer recently tried to get his bond reduced in the case, but suggested it would be very difficult to come up with the funds.

Against that background, repeating a version of a comment that has already been deemed defamatory does not seem like a good idea.

However, President Trump has also made it clear that he is not completely swayed by the advice of his lawyers or the legal system.