E. Jean Carroll Can Amend Trump Defamation Suit to Include CNN Town Hall Comments, Judge Rules
Donald Trump's CNN town hall might end up costing more than just the network's ratings. On Tuesday, a federal judge in New York ruled that E. Jean Carroll can amend her defamation lawsuit against the disgraced former president to include comments he made about her during the May 10 CNN event.
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What is the recent development in the E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump?
The ruling comes on the same day Trump surrendered himself in a federal court in Miami to face charges stemming from the investigation into his unlawful possession and handling of classified documents after leaving office.
"We look forward to moving ahead expeditiously on E Jean Carroll's remaining claims," Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, said in a statement after the ruling.
Carroll filed her lawsuit against the twice-impeached former president Trump in 2019, with the case finally going to trial this year. On May 9, after only three hours of deliberation, the jury turned in a unanimous verdict holding Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation; he was ordered to pay her $5 million.
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What was the previous outcome of the civil suit between E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump?
On May 10 -- almost exactly 24 hours later, in fact -- Trump participated in the CNN town hall where -- exactly as critics predicted -- he flung rapid-fire lies about practically every topic, with only tepid pushback from moderator Kaitlan Collins, (the exception being in response to lies about the 2020 election).
And regarding Carroll, Trump falsely referred to her lawsuit as "election interference," attempted to baselessly smear her as a racist, and tried to discuss unfounded and irrelevant claims against her that his legal team had been specifically forbidden from mentioning during the trial. Trump also once again falsely claimed he didn't know Carroll.
The event proved an almost immediate disaster for CNN. Already harshly criticized for holding it in the first place, CNN was beset by almost universal condemnation by viewers and media critics, including even CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy. Particular ire was directed at then-CEO Chris Licht, which sent the network into unmistakable crisis management mode. Over the next day, the network released several statements ardently defending the event. According to multiple reports, Licht even threatened Darcy's job and falsely accused him of being "emotional" about it.
This all culminated in the May 11 episode of Anderson Cooper's primetime show, Cooper delivered a monologue on the town hall in which he accused viewers who objected to the town hall of being closed-minded and essentially dared them to stop watching. Unfortunately for the network -- and Licht -- viewers obliged.