'Did he defame her again?' Expert points out how Trump just risked new E. Jean Carroll charges
In a so-called "press conference" in Manhattan on Friday — after which he took no questions — former President Donald Trump repeatedly assailed writer E. Jean Carroll and other women who accused him of sexual misconduct. Now, one legal expert is saying that tirade may end up costing him.
Trump was in court on Friday for a hearing about his appeal of a $5 million civil verdict from 2023, in which the 45th president of the United States was found liable for sexual abuse. That verdict was separate from his early 2024 verdict for defamation, in which a New York jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages.
After Trump's speech concluded, former assistant Manhattan district attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo joined CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who asked her why Trump chose to attend the appeal given that he didn't attend the initial 2023 proceedings. Agnifilo said that was "one of the big questions," but that a bigger one could be if Carroll's attorneys end up taking additional legal action in response to his latest attacks on their client.
READ MORE: 'Gonna have to pay': E. Jean Carroll lawyer says appeal won't help Trump delay judgment
"This was an appellate argument. This is him trying to appeal the finding of liability that this nine-person jury found against him and found that he had sexually abused [Carroll]. He's guilty, essentially of sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll in addition to defaming her," Agnifilo explained. "And so that is what he's complaining about here, is he almost wants a do over. You can't do that on appeal. On appeal, the judges look at the record and that's it. They don't listen to your defense or anything else that you have to say."
"One of the things I was listening for is, did he defame her again? And will E. Jean Carroll bring additional defamation charges against him from this press conference?" She continued. "Because every time he denies ever meeting her or knowing her or denies that this happened, that could be another charge of defamation. So it'll be interesting to see if the lawyers bring more defamation charges against him."
Trump maintained that he had no idea who Carroll was, and that he "never met her." However, Vanity Fair special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast dug up a photo of Trump speaking to several people — including Carroll — at an event in the 1990s while standing next to his then-wife Marla Maples.
"She has gone around for years saying this story and it’s a total lie," the former president said, "This whole thing started, along with just about every case I’ve been involved with, with the political campaign of [Vice President Kamala] Harris, who’s having a bad time."
READ MORE: Jury orders Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million
The former president's approximately 45-minute speech to the media mostly involved him lobbing baseless allegations at President Joe Biden's Department of Justice for supposedly putting its finger on the scale in the case (which he called a "rigged deal"). He added that the media should look into "China, China, China" and "Iran, Iran, Iran" instead of telling voters about his legal woes.
Carroll's initial allegation was that the ex-president sexually assaulted her in Manhattan's Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s, when Trump was still a New York real estate mogul. Trump posited that Carroll fabricated the story in order to accumulate money and to score political points, which led to her successful defamation lawsuit.
Watch Agnifilo's segment below, or by clicking this link.
READ MORE: Why Trump's attempt to stall $83M Carroll payment didn't work
