Former President Donald Trump reiterated his denial of writer E. Jean Carroll’s se*xual assault allegations against him, despite a recent defamation case ruling against him.
At a rally in Rome, Georgia, Trump referenced the $91.6 million bond he posted three days before the deadline to pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll for defaming her. Trump called Carroll’s accusation a “totally made-up story” and stated that he knew nothing about her.
Carroll first made her se*xual assault claims against Trump in 2019, alleging that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.
In a civil trial in May 2023, a New York jury found that Trump se*xually abused Carroll but did not rape her. Trump’s recent comments echo his 2019 statement, denying knowing Carroll and calling her accusations false.
Trump also criticized New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which lifted the state’s statute of limitations for one year, allowing survivors of se*xual assault to sue regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.
He expressed concern about Lewis Kaplan, the federal judge who denied his request to delay the defamation judgment, calling him a “Trump-deranged, angry man.”
Trump plans to appeal the defamation judgment, along with two other verdicts against him in separate cases. Neither Carroll’s legal team nor the Trump campaign immediately responded to requests for comment on the matter.
