We’re additionally filing this one under “Blunders” due to Trump’s post-decision antics and Carroll’s response to them. Before we get to that, let’s just quickly recap how we got here.
Back in the mid-1990’s, Trump was in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City looking for a gift. He ran into Carroll and asked for her help, a short time later they somehow ended up in a dressing room together. She states that Trump forcefully kissed her, pulled down her tights, and raped her. She says this encounter lasted three minutes. I love the fact that the three-minute detail is prominent in recounting these events. 😎
Fast forward to 2019, and Carroll published an article in the New York magazine describing the incident. Trump denies the incident and claims he’s never met Carroll, despite a photograph of them socializing. Of course, Trump doesn’t ever just quietly deny anything, he’s got to turn it up to 11, and he did — attacking her character, calling her a wacko, insulting her appearance, and so on. In response, Carroll filed a defamation suit against him.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) asserted that Trump had acted in his official capacity while responding to Carroll’s accusation (what?? c’mon, when has any other sitting president established this precedent?), and they claimed a right to move the case to federal court, effectively squashing it because the government can’t be sued for defamation.
“Trump’s effort to wield the power of the U.S. government to evade responsibility for his private misconduct is without precedent.”
Roberta A. Kaplan (Carroll’s lawyer)
Fast forward to 2020, where a District Court judge rejected the DOJ’s motion, arguing that Trump is not a government employee and that his comments were not related to his job as such. That opens the door to Trump’s deposition a year later in October 2022. The wheels of justice sometime move ever so slowly. A month later, Carroll sues Trump — for battery this time, which allows sexual assault victims to file suit after the statute of limitations expires.
So that brings us up-to-date. Last week, a jury found Trump liable for sexual assault, battery, and defamation, but not liable for rape. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages.
Now comes the oh-so-Trump blunder that absolutely no one, nowhere, is surprised to hear. Trump echoed his earlier defamatory remarks — the ones that kicked off the lawsuit and assault charges in the first place — calling the lawsuit “fake,” “a made up story invented by a whack job,” claiming the civil trial was “a rigged deal.”
So Carroll sued him again for defamation, this time seeking $10 million in damages.
This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll’s favor both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same. . . It makes a mockery of the jury verdict and our justice system if he can just keep on repeating the same defamatory statements over and over again.
Carroll’s second filing
This is like an infinite money glitch. Sue Trump, win money, Trump’s fragile ego and pride keep his diminutive hands from covering his mouth, he makes Trump’ish comments, and the cycle repeats. Literally, all he had to do was keep his mouth shut.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around that fact that a guy who can’t keep his mouth shut was elected to a position where not keeping your mouth shut is a threat to national security. 🤦♂️
