Federal Judge Rules Donald Trump Liable for Defaming Writer E. Jean Carroll, Trial to Determine Damages Set for January 2024

A federal judge in New York has ruled that former President Donald Trump is liable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll and will face a trial in January 2024 to determine what money damages he owes her.

In May, a jury in a separate civil trial found Trump had sexually abused Carroll during an encounter in the dressing room of a New York department store in the 1990s, and then defamed her after he left office by calling her claims a made-up “con job.” Trump denies defaming Carroll, and the upcoming trial will focus solely on what money damages he owes her.

In a 25-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan found the substance of Carroll’s pending defamation claims were the same as the Trump insults that a jury had determined were defamatory earlier this year. Kaplan ruled Wednesday that there’s no longer a question as to whether Trump defamed Carroll in 2019, and that the trial scheduled for January will merely determine what further damages Carroll is owed.

Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan said in a statement that the ruling was “an important victory for our client and for all women who have been defamed when they dare to speak the truth about powerful men.”

Trump’s attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said in a statement that the ruling was “wrong” and that Trump will appeal. He also said that the ruling “ignores the critical fact that the jury found that Ms. Carroll’s allegations of rape were not credible.”