Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump’s motion for a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse/defamation case has been denied by Judge Lewis Kaplan. Now, let’s be honest here, this whole lawsuit situation is more confusing than trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. There are two separate lawsuits, one from 2019 and one from 2022, and they basically blend together into a convoluted mess. It’s enough to give you a headache.
Judge Goes out of His Way to Deny Trump New Trial in E. Jean. Carroll Case https://t.co/1n45J4sX5q
— RedState (@RedState) July 20, 2023
But let’s break it down, shall we? Carroll initially sued Trump for defamation in 2019 over comments he made about her and her accusations. Then in 2022, she added another lawsuit, this time accusing Trump not only of defamation but also of rape/sexual abuse. The 2022 lawsuit actually went to trial, and guess what? The jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Ouch.
But here’s where it gets interesting. The day after the verdict, Carroll told CNN that Trump did, in fact, rape her, despite the jury’s finding. Trump, being Trump, retaliated by calling Carroll a whack job and claiming her story was made up. This led Carroll to amend her claim in the 2019 lawsuit, substituting “sexual abuse” for “rape” and including Trump’s CNN comments.
Now, Trump has filed a counterclaim in the 2019 lawsuit, alleging that Carroll defamed him when she said he raped her. And here we are, back at the denial of Trump’s motion for a new trial. Judge Kaplan basically said that even though the jury didn’t find Trump guilty of rape under the narrow definition in New York law, it doesn’t mean he didn’t “rape” Carroll in a broader sense of the term.
I don’t know about you, but this whole semantic debate about the term “rape” seems a bit pointless to me. The jury found Trump guilty of sexually abusing Carroll, which implies there was digital penetration involved. That’s still a serious offense, folks. And it’s not looking good for Trump’s counterclaim in the ongoing lawsuit.
All in all, it’s a messy, complicated legal battle that shows no signs of slowing down. But hey, at least we have something entertaining to distract us from the boring day-to-day news. Gotta find a silver lining somewhere, right?
