The former president’s legal woes continued on Wednesday when one of the more nagging issues afflicting him took a turn for the worse.
As former President Donald Trump grapples with a quartet of criminal indictments (two of which are on a federal level), a judge has ruled that Trump is liable for defamation in his ongoing legal battle with author E. Jean Carroll, per CNN.
The 79-year-old author has long alleged that Trump had raped her in the 1990s, and then subsequently claimed that he also defamed her by denying those allegations.
In a May trial, a jury ruled that against the rape claim — but did decide that Trump is guilty of sexually abusing and forcibly touching Carroll.
At the time, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million.
After that initial ruling, Trump launched a blistering salvo against the decision:
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
Carroll, despite coming out ahead in that first suit, swiftly turned around and implied she may bring a second defamation suit against the former president, this time based on comments he made during a CNN town hall.
“This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is,” Trump said during a rare appearance on CNN.
He added: “This is a fake story, made-up story,” Trump said, adding, “I have no idea who the hell — she’s a wack job.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton-appointed federal judge, has now ruled in favor of Carroll in regards to her second defamation lawsuit.
“The truth or falsity of Mr Trump’s 2019 statements therefore depends — like the truth or falsity of his 2022 statement — on whether Ms Carroll lied about Mr Trump sexually assaulting her,” Kaplan ruled, per CNN. “The jury’s finding that she did not therefore is binding in this case and precludes Mr Trump from contesting the falsity of his 2019 statements.”
The trial for this second defamation lawsuit, which is slated for Jan. 15, 2024, will now be only to decide how much in damages that the former president must pay. That date could be particularly bothersome for Trump as it coincides with the Iowa Republican caucuses.
Of fiscal note, Kaplan has also denied the Trump legal team’s request to put a cap on the damages he must pay in this suit.
Kaplan denied that, effectively rendering the previous $5 million suit irrelevant in terms of deciding how much he must pay in this second suit.
Carroll is reportedly seeking $10 million in damages.
Trump has long denied any wrongdoing with regards to anything involving Carroll.
Despite the ongoing legal woes, Trump is still the prohibitive favorite to emerge from the GOP primary as the party’s 2024 presidential candidate.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.