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Former President Donald Trump suffered another legal loss in New York after a federal judge on Monday dismissed his counterclaim against columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Trump's effort to claim that Carroll made false statements following the verdict in Trump's civil trial in May. Trump's countersuit is a response to Carroll's pending lawsuit accusing the former president of defaming her after she alleged he raped her.
Kaplan, who presided over the trial in May and is overseeing Carroll's second suit, noted that the jury's verdict was almost entirely in her favor, disagreed with Trump's arguments that her accusations were false and found Carroll's statements to be "substantially true."
In a separate order, Kaplan also ruled that Trump's deposition in the case could be given to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting Trump on 34 felony counts related to a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has plead not guilty in the pending criminal case, which is slated to go to trial next May.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's attorneys, Alina Habbas and Michael Madaio, via email for comment.
Former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek it was no surprise that Trump's counterclaims failed.
"Donald Trump file motions in legal cases like others breath air," McAuliffe said. "The Carroll defamation case [round two] will proceed. It's still going for no other reason than Trump's own inability to stay silent."
In May, a jury in Manhattan found Trump liable for sexual abuse but not rape in the case that Carroll brought forward and awarded her $5 million in damages. Her allegations stem from an encounter between Trump and Carroll that she described as taking place in the dressing room of a department store in the 1990s.
Trump's counterclaim accused Carroll of making false statements in interviews after the verdict since the jury did not find him liable of rape. Trump is appealing the verdict.
"The difference between Ms. Carroll's allegedly defamatory statements—that Mr. Trump 'raped' her as defined in the New York Penal Law—and the 'truth'—that Mr. Trump digitally penetrated Ms. Carroll—is minimal," Kaplan wrote in a Monday order. "Both are felonious sex crimes."
"Given that the anatomical difference between the alleged falsehood and the truth is a 'fine and shaded distinction [that] must be drawn' in order 'to sustain a charge of libel' based on Ms. Carroll's interview statements, 'no legal harm has been done,'" Kaplan ruled.
Kaplan's decision to grant Bragg the videotape and transcript of Trump's deposition is likely to increase the chances that the former president's testimony will be used in the pending criminal case accusing Trump of falsifying business records regarding the alleged hush money payment. Bragg had already issued a subpoena for the deposition in May, but Trump's legal team asked a New York state court judge to block the effort. The judge ruled last month that the decision would be up to Kaplan.
In a one-sentence order, Kaplan said on Monday that Carroll's attorneys may comply with a subpoena from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
McAuliffe said Trump may attempt to appeal the order on the deposition and that any effort to do so will ultimately delay how quickly Bragg will get his hands on the deposition from last October.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more