E. Jean Carroll asks judge to rule Trump can't claim he's innocent of sexual assault

Writer E. Jean Carroll has asked a federal judge to rule Donald Trump cannot claim he did not sexually assault her in an upcoming defamation trial.

Before a scheduled January trial, an attorney for Carroll requested Judge Lewis Kaplan prevent Trump from claiming he is not guilty of sexual assault.

In a Monday filing, the attorney noted that the trial was set only to determine damages for defamation, and had a narrower scope than Trump's first rape trial versus Carroll, in which he was found liable of sexual abuse.

"The damages issues in this case relate to Trump's June 2019 defamatory statements, not whether there is physical evidence that serves as further proof that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll," the attorney wrote.

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"While it is Trump's right to submit to questioning, he does not have the right to say whatever he pleases," the filing added.

"Trump cannot, for instance, claim that he did not sexually assault Carroll; argue that he was telling the truth in his statements about her; suggest that Carroll fabricated her account due to a political agenda, financial interests, or mental illness; or offer any other testimony that would be inconsistent with the Court's collateral estoppel decision determining that Trump, with actual malice, lied about sexually assaulting Carroll."