Ever since a New York jury found that failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump did indeed sexually assault and defame writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million in damages, the disgraced ex-head of state has been lashing out on social media, and that could wind up leading to him being charged with defamation yet again.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, spoke with Dahlia Lithwick of Slate, and she made it clear that Trump had best shut his trap and stop making inflammatory postings.
Lithwick asked Kaplan about Trump’s disgusting comments during his CNN town hall, where he called Carroll a “wack job,” said the trial had been a “rigged deal,” and asked the studio audience, “What kind of a woman meets somebody, and brings them up, and within minutes you’re playing hanky panky in a dressing room?”
Kaplan replied, “I knew he would continue to deny it. But once the jury came back and the CNN Town Hall was on, we knew they were going to ask about it. And we knew he wasn’t going to say, ‘OK, now I admit it, I was wrong.”
She added:
“I’m so sorry E. Jean, that I did that to you. We knew that wasn’t gonna happen. I think I was a little stunned that he used exactly the same language. He basically repeated the defamation in ways that make it very easy for us to not have to prove a future case on the merits, because we’re gonna get what’s called collateral estoppel or issue preclusion. So that wasn’t maybe wisest thing for him to do.”
“I’m watching to see if he keeps doing it, though. I mean, I think the threat of [losing] more and more money may ultimately tone down what he says at some point,” Kaplan explained.
Though he’s clearly ignorant when it comes to the law, Kaplan noted, he understands what it means to be on the hook for a $5 million judgment.
“I think he understands money. One thing Donald Trump understands is money, and $5 million for Donald Trump is not nothing. And there’s really no viable appellate argument. So he’s going to have to pay that $5 million with interest sooner than he thinks he’s gonna have to pay it. He’ll have to pay interest from the time of the judgment. Yeah. That’s 9 percent … I’m not even sure he’s got $5 million in liquidity. He may have to sell something to pay you the $5 million.”
