Trump too scared to say Carroll's name in latest online rant: expert
January 26, 2024
Former President Donald Trump may finally have been cowed into ending his defamation campaign against writer E. Jean Carroll, said former federal prosecutor Harry Litman on MSNBC Friday — and one of the big indicators was that, when he posted his rant blasting the verdict on Truth Social, he seemed to take great care not to even mention Carroll's name.
Trump was held liable for an eight-figure damages judgment in the case brought by Carroll, a writer who was sexually abused by the former president in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump defamed her by claiming to have no idea who Carroll was, and that she was lying to boost her book sales.
"$83.3 million," said anchor Alicia Menendez. "What does that number say to you?"
"It's an emphatic victory, but it's not a stratospheric one," said Litman. "We were talking about even bigger numbers. And I think that is better for E. Jean Carroll.
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"That's the sort of thing when you have such a winning case as this, Kaplan — being careful to only stress certain factors. And I think the jury was overall somewhat prudent, but it's — on the other hand, to the point of accountability."
" ... I'd like to say that the MVP here, next to Carroll herself, I think, is Judge Kaplan. He showed that Trump can, in fact, be constrained, can be kept from his antics, and what accountability means for Trump is not being able to proclaim victory."
"You notice even in that nastygram that he sent from the plane, he talked about Biden, he talked about others, he didn't mention E. Jean Carroll," added Litman. "My best bet is he's done with that, and that will be a sign that he has — he has lost, been held accountable, and in the most important way his tail is between his legs where it deserves to be. So in that sense, it's a very significant jury verdict and a very important performance by Judge Kaplan, for other judges to emulate going forward."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
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