Former President Donald Trump's liability for sexual abuse in the E. Jean Carroll case cannot be revisited or relitigated, a federal judge instructed a jury today.
"Judge Lewis Kaplan told the nine jurors that they must accept as true that Trump forcibly sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll and defamed her when he denied it," reported ABC News.
"'Ms. Carroll did not make up her claim of forcible sexual abuse. His false statements tended to disparage Ms. Carroll or tended to expose her to hatred or to induce an unsavory opinion of her.' The judge made it clear the jury was only determining damages related to two defamatory statements Trump made in June 2019 when he denied Carroll's rape allegation."
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Ultimately, Kaplan instructed the jury, "This trial is not a do-over of the previous trial which determined those facts."
Trump was last year found liable for $5 million in damages for sexually abusing Carroll and then defaming her by denying it. Trump is currently appealing that judgment.
The trial that started Tuesday involves separate allegations of defamation regarding the same incident of sexual assault. The judge has already found him liable for defamation, meaning the jury is there to consider the amount of damages.
The former president continues to claim that he has no idea who Carroll is — and reiterated this assertion in a rant on social media earlier in the day.
"It is a giant Election Interference Scam, pushed and financed by political operatives," Trump said. "I had no idea who this woman was. PURE FICTION!"
