Donald Trump May Have Just Sparked Another Lawsuit

Donald Trump could be hit with another lawsuit over his recent comments about E. Jean Carroll, legal experts tell Newsweek.

Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages in May after a New York City jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting her in a New York City department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, though they rejected her allegation of rape. The jury also determined that Trump defamed the former Elle columnist when he called her allegations a "con job" in a post on Truth Social in October 2022.

Trump is facing another lawsuit from Carroll stemming from Trump's denial of the sexual assault allegations, which Carroll made public during Trump's presidency in mid-2019. The suit was later amended to include statements Trump made during a CNN town hall broadcast in May, where he called Carroll's account of events "fake" and labeled her a "whack job."

In early September, New York Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Trump's comments against Carroll were defamatory. The trial to determine the damages Trump will have to pay is set for January.

Trump ranted on Truth Social on Wednesday about the "unconstitutional" nature of the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law enacted in May 2022 that allows victims of sexual assault to file civil suits no matter if the statute of limitations expired. The act is what allowed Carroll to sue Trump for sexual assault.

The former president wrote: "I hope that Mayor Eric Adam's, Andrew Cuomo, and all of the others that got sued based on this ridiculous law where someone can be sued decades later, and with no proof, will fight it on being totally unfair and UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

"I got sued, decades later (she has no idea when her made up event took place!), by a woman - I HAD NO IDEA WHO SHE WAS. It was a made up fairytale that was brought and funded by political operatives for purposes of Election Interference."

Trump's social media post could land him in even more hot water as legal experts told Newsweek that there is no limit to how many times Carroll can sue Trump for defamation.

"Trump can be sued every time he defames her, through his speeches and written words. Each successive case becomes easier for Carroll's lawyers to win," Dave Aronberg, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, told Newsweek, adding that "Groundhog Day is becoming quite expensive for the former president."

When asked if Trump's comments could spark another defamation lawsuit, Barbara McQuade, a former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, told Newsweek: "The short answer is yes."

"The jury has already found that Trump sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll. Every time he denies it, he exposes himself to another claim for defamation. Perhaps he has calculated that any additional damages would be negligible in light of the $5 million he has already been ordered to pay," McQuade said.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's team via email for comment.

MSNBC anchor Katie Phang also saw the potential for Trump's wallet to take an even bigger hit, writing on X: "Donald Trump — the twice-impeached, quadruple-indicted, one-term, ex-President —who was already found liable, by a jury of his peers, for sexual abuse wants to continue to defame @ejeancarroll and pay her more in damages."