Judge says Trump’s 'appeal itself is frivolous' in E. Jean Carroll defamation case: report

18 August 2023

A judge on Friday ruled former President Donald Trump's appeal in journalist E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against him to be "frivolous," Reuters reports.

"Mr. Trump has not provided a single reason for the court to find that there is any likelihood that he will succeed on appeal," Manhattan U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote, according to Reuters. "This court certifies that the appeal itself is frivolous."

Furthermore, the judge also denied Trump's request to delay the trial, according to CNN.

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CNN reports:

In a court order, district Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Trump's motion to stay the case pending an appeal. Trump had asked Kaplan to allow the delay while his legal team litigates an appeal of the judge's ruling that found Trump previously waived the use of presidential immunity as a defense to the defamation lawsuit.

Kaplan said he is not required to stay the case while the appeals court considers the issue.

Per Reuters, "Trump's lawyer Alina Habba said in an email that she disagreed with but 'fully anticipated' Kaplan's decision, and will 'promptly move before the Second Circuit for a stay to preserve our client's entitlement to presidential immunity.'"

Reuters reports:

Carroll, 79, sued Trump in November 2019 over his denial five months earlier that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.

The case is separate from the May 9 verdict where a jury found Trump liable to pay Carroll $5 million for sexual abuse, and for defamation over a similar denial in an October 2022 social media post. Trump is also appealing that verdict.

The trial is set for January 15, 2024 — the same day as the Iowa Republican Caucus, according to Politico.

CNN's report is available at this link. Reuters' report is here (subscription required). Politico's report is here.

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