A federal judge on Tuesday granted a motion by E. Jean Carroll to file an amended defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump seeking at least $10 million, based in part on recent comments Trump made on CNN.
Carroll filed the motion for an amended grievance after Trump called her a «nut» at a CNN town hall in May, the day after he won a $5 million judgment against her in a different civil case alleging sexual abuse and defamation.
At the CNN event, Trump said: “I have never met this woman. I never saw this woman,” calling his claims “false” and “fabricated,” his attorneys said when seeking the amended complaint.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan granted the motion Tuesday, the same day Trump was arrested and pleaded not guilty in Florida to federal charges involving classified documents.
“We look forward to moving quickly with E. Jean Carroll’s remaining claims,” said Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who was not related to the judge.
The pending defamation case dates back to 2019, when Carroll, a writer, publicly accused Trump, who was president at the time.
A jury reached a civil verdict and $5 million judgment last month in a case Carroll brought over comments Trump made as a private citizen.
Carroll said Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store near her home on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1995 or 1996.
Last month, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing her and defamation, but found no evidence to show that Trump raped her.
After the CNN appearance, Carroll’s attorney filed an amended complaint in the pending case seeking new damages.
Trump «doubled down on his previous defamatory statements» online, Carroll’s lawyers wrote.
Trump spokeswoman Alina Habba said Tuesday that her team does not believe Carroll should have been able to amend the defamation complaint.
“We hold that you should not be allowed to retroactively change your legal theory, at the last minute, to avoid the consequences of an adverse ruling against you,” Habba said in a statement.
Carroll went public with the accusations against Trump in his 2019 book “What Do We Need Men For? A modest proposition.»
She then sued Trump, alleging that he had defamed her by calling her a liar. The case was deadlocked on appeal over issues related to whether Trump could be held responsible for comments he made while president.