Trump 'beefs up' legal team to fight E. Jean Carroll's $83M victory

Former President Donald Trump is amping up his efforts to fight the $83.3 million in damages a New York federal judge ordered him to pay E. Jean Carroll, court records show.

Attorney William Scharf — a Republican candidate in Missouri's attorney general race — filed Wednesday a motion to join the team appealing Judge Lewis Kaplan's ruling, which found Trump liable for defaming the former writer whom he's also been found liable for sexually abusing.

"Trump is further beefing up his legal team," explained MSNBC analyst Lisa Rubin.

Scharf is a criminal prosecutor and conservative advocate campaigning on his successful bid to place Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court and his work against “abortion sanctuary cities” in his state.

Spectrum News reported in December that Scharf would play a "larger role" in Trump's legal team, not just in the Carroll case. It would include helping to appeal federal Judge Tanya Chutkan's gag order in his election interference case.

The St. Louis Riverfront Times notes Scharf, who described his role in Kavanaugh's appointment as helping him “beat the smears,” has been dropping Trump's name amid criticism that's he a prosecutor playing political games.

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"When Scharf joined the prosecutor's office in 2020, his political ambitions were apparent from day one, and the perception that the job was merely a stepping stone for him rubbed some people the wrong way," the report states.

"He'd been a prosecutor for a little over five minutes and he's talking about Missouri AG," an assistant U.S. attorney told the outlet.

The source also said Scharf "came into the job with no prosecutorial experience" and handled "'getting your feet wet' type cases during his two-year tenure."

Scharf is the second appellate lawyer Trump has on the team fighting the multi-million dollar ruling, according to Rubin.

Trump, who denies wrongdoing, also faces a more-than $450 million demand in a New York civil fraud case.