Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday filed a counterclaim against writer E. Jean Carroll, alleging she defamed him after a jury found him liable of sexual abusing and defaming her last month.
Though Trump was not found liable for rape, Carroll has long claimed that the former presented sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in 1996. Trump's counterclaim focuses on Carroll's CNN appearance on May 10, a day after the verdict was handed down, in which she doubled down on the rape allegation. The lawsuit accuses Carroll of defaming Trump when she insisted "oh yes he did, oh yes he did," when responding to a question asking for commentary on the jury ruling that Trump was not liable for rape.
Trump's legal team in the filing states that Carroll made "these false statements with actual malice and ill will with an intent to significantly and spitefully harm and attack," and argues that Trump "has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result."
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"The interview was on television, social media and multiple internet websites, with the intention of broadcasting and circulating these defamatory statements among a significant portion of the public," the counterclaim adds.
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