United States: Former president Donald Trump is accused of rape, a defamation case filed by the writer E. Jean Carroll. On Monday, a US appellate court decided that he can’t claim presidential immunity in a defamation case.
Trump’s claims had been rejected by a federal judge’s decision from the 2nd United States Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, finding that he waited too long to raise it as a defense.
Trump’s immunity claim rejected
Alina Habba, one Of Trump’s attorneys in the case, stated that he’ll seek “immediate review” from the Supreme Court. He also called the ruling “fundamentally flawed.”
E. Jean Carroll sought a substantial US$10 million in damages from Trump, alleging rape in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Despite Trump’s denial, asserting Carroll is not his “type,” she contended that he fabricated the rape allegation for self-promotion. Trump denied knowing Carroll, said she was not his “type,” and claimed she made up the rape allegation to promote her impending biography.
The former Elle magazine journalist filed her case in November 2019, but Trump established ultimate presidential immunity in December 2022. Under this provision, a president is protected from various civil actions while in office.
In June, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan denied Trump’s request to dismiss Carroll’s complaint and subsequently declined to allow Trump to raise an immunity argument, noting the delay in requesting it and the public interest in accountability.
“A three-year-delay is more than enough, under our precedents, to qualify as ‘undue,’” a three-judge panel wrote.
Trump’s appeal was handled expeditiously ahead of a trial slated for January 16, 2024.
He has attempted a similar immunity defense in his federal criminal case in Washington, where he is accused of illegally trying to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Carroll vs Trump Saga continues
Carroll has previously defeated Trump in a civil trial. After Trump disputed her charges again in October, a jury in a second case gave her US$5 million in May for sexual assault and slander. Trump is appealing the decision.
On September 6, Kaplan decided that the May jury’s conclusions applied to Carroll’s initial case, rendering Trump’s denial defamatory. Only the amount of money Trump should pay Carroll in damages was left for trial.
“We are pleased that the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Kaplan’s rulings and that we can now move forward with trial,” Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement.
Trump emerged as the primary contender to challenge, poised to contest the 2024 US presidential elections against President Joe Biden. This is despite confronting a formidable array of four federal and state criminal indictments. He has pleaded not guilty.