(RestoreAmericanGlory.com) – In a recent legal development, a federal judge declined to dismiss an initial defamation lawsuit launched by writer E. Jean Carroll against former President Donald Trump. The decision came from U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who turned down the request for a summary judgment. In the same vein, the judge also rejected Trump’s claims of having complete and unconditional presidential immunity, a defense that the former president was trying to leverage.
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, interpreted the ruling as an emphatic statement. She noted that Judge Kaplan’s decision only served to further underscore the futility and ineffectiveness of the legal defenses that Trump was attempting to use against Carroll. Drawing attention to Trump’s attempt to invoke “presidential immunity” as a shield, Roberta Kaplan made it clear that the former president would now have to grapple with the realities of the current ruling. In other words, his attempts to dismiss the case have been thwarted, and he must now prepare for the case to move forward.
The case in question is earmarked for a hearing in January, and it’s important to note that it is distinct from the previously trialed defamation and sexual assault lawsuit that had also been launched against Trump. In this earlier case, the proceedings concluded with a New York jury holding Trump accountable for charges of sexual battery and defamation. Following these findings, Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages.
The present defamation lawsuit revolves around several statements that Trump made in June 2019. These comments came into the public sphere following Carroll’s initial public accusations, wherein she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Trump in a Bergdorf Goodman department store during the mid-1990s.
This lawsuit includes several alleged defamatory comments made by Trump. Among these, Trump’s remarks to The Hill stand out, where he not only denied the alleged incident outright but also added the contentious statement that Carroll was not his type. This comment, in particular, drew criticism from many quarters. Trump has consistently and categorically rejected the allegations put forth by Carroll.
Trump’s dismissive approach toward Carroll was further demonstrated during a recent Fake News CNN town hall. He escalated his rhetoric by referring to Carroll as a “whack job” and claiming he had no recollection of her, further intensifying the dispute. As the case advances, these alleged defamatory statements and the surrounding circumstances are likely to be scrutinized closely.