Donald Trump Faces New Trial in Defamation Case
Former President Donald Trump is expected back in a New York courthouse this week as he splits his time between the campaign trail and the courtroom with the 2024 presidential primary season officially underway. This article provides an in-depth look at the upcoming trial, the background of the case, and what to expect.
Background of the Case
Donald Trump is expected back in a New York courthouse this week as he splits his time between the campaign trail and the courtroom with the 2024 presidential primary season officially underway. The former president will be back on trial beginning Tuesday in Manhattan federal court for a jury to determine how much he will pay in damages for defaming columnist E. Jean Carroll in 2019 statements he made denying her rape allegations.
Donald Trump, E. Jean Carroll, John Johnson and Ivana Trump at an NBC party, late 1980s.
This is the second trial over Carroll's allegations that Trump raped her in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996. In the first trial, a jury found Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll and awarded her $5 million for his statements in 2022 attacking her and denying the allegations.
The defamatory statements at issue in this trial were made in June 2019, when Trump was president. Trump said in part, 'I'll say it with great respect: Number one, she's not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?'
What's at Stake
Carroll is seeking more than $10 million in damages, and the judge has ruled the jury will be able to consider Trump's comments at a CNN town hall following the 2023 verdict when deciding damages. Jury selection will begin Tuesday morning.
Last May, a Manhattan federal jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her in 2022 public statements he made disparaging her and denying the allegations. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for the battery and defamation claims against Trump. Trump is appealing the verdict.
What to Expect at the Trial
The judge has limited the testimony in the present case to damages and harm. Carroll is expected to testify. Her lawyers have also indicated they may play portions of Trump's 2022 deposition, as well as the widely reported Access Hollywood tape, where Trump can be heard making vulgar comments about his treatment of women to show host Billy Bush.
An expert on damages who testified at the first trial, Professor Ashlee Humphreys, is expected to testify again. Carroll's lawyers have indicated they'd like to call two other women who testified in the first trial - Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds - and allege Trump sexually assaulted them. Trump's lawyers suggested he may testify at the trial, but Kaplan has ordered restrictions on what the former president can say should he take the stand.
