U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan shot down Donald Trump's request for a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll case in which the former president was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
A jury in May found that Trump was liable for sexually abusing the former Elle writer in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York in the 1990s and then defamed her character in 2022 by making comments such as that the abuse didn't happen because Carroll "wasn't my type." Trump was not found liable over accusations that he raped Carroll, but the jury ruled that Trump must pay Carroll $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages over sexual battery and defamation claims.
In July, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he planned to appeal, calling it a "Miscarriage of Justice and a total Scam."
However, in a 59-page decision filed on Wednesday, Kaplan issued a scathing rebuke when he rejected Trump's request for a new trial.
"The jury in this case did not 'reach a seriously erroneous result,'" Kaplan wrote. Kaplan then cited Trump's words when adding that the verdict was not "a miscarriage of justice."
Despite the judge's ruling, it won't be the last time Carroll testifies against Trump in court. Carroll first sued Trump in 2019 after the former president made claims that he had never met Carroll and accused her of inventing the sexual abuse story to increase sales for her newly published memoir, What Do We Need Men For? That case, which is known as "Carroll I" in court documents, is seeking $10 million in damages from Trump for defamation.
Robbie Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, celebrated Wednesday's victory and told Newsweek that Carroll is looking forward to holding Trump accountable when "Carroll I" begins.
"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 $5 million in damages that the jury awarded her in Carroll II," Kaplan said. "She also looks forward to continuing to hold Trump accountable for what he did to her at the trial in Carroll I, which is scheduled to begin on January 15, 2024."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign by email for comment.
The trial is one of several legal woes for Trump, who is running his third presidential campaign. He is the subject of several investigations, including his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. Trump also has been indicted for allegedly knowingly taking classified documents from the White House and storing them at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump pleaded not guilty in the classified documents case and maintains his innocence against all allegations. He continues to say that the allegations against him are the result of a political witch hunt.
In the Carroll case, Trump criticized the "hostile Judge and Jury" for the ruling.
"The trial was very unfair, with the other side being able to do and present virtually anything they wanted, and our side being largely and wrongfully shut down by an absolutely hostile, biased, and out of control judge," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Update 7/19/23, 11:48 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and comment from Robbie Kaplan.
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