NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After Donald Trump’s conviction for sexual abuse, the former US President has to accept another legal setback. A federal judge in New York ruled on Wednesday that Trump’s further comments about US author E. Jean Carroll were defamatory. This leaves the jury at a second trial, scheduled to begin in January, to decide only how much compensation the ex-president will have to pay to the woman. Carroll is asking for more than $10 million.
A New York grand jury in May found it proven that Trump had assaulted and sexually assaulted Carroll in a New York upscale department store in 1996. Because of this finding, other statements by Trump that have not yet been negotiated, which accuse Carroll of lying, should also be regarded as defamation, the responsible federal judge argued. The jury awarded the writer $5 million in damages in May.
Shortly after the conviction, Carroll announced that she would take legal action against the ex-president again. She cited other statements by Trump as the reason. The court provisionally set the trial to begin on January 15, 2024. Trump, who wants to run as a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, also has to deal with the courts in several other cases./scb/DP/ngu