Trump keeps talking about his defamation case outside court. E. Jean Carroll's lawyer says she'll just use it as evidence.
Donald Trump keeps talking about E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against him outside of court. Carroll's lawyer says it's more evidence.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP
- The trial for E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against Donald Trump began this week.
- After his day in court on Wednesday, Trump has talked about the case several times.
- Carroll's lawyer notified the court on Saturday that she will use his statements as evidence.
Since the trial for writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump began this week, the former president has already made a habit of talking about the case outside the courtroom — in a post-hearing press conference, at a campaign rally, and on Truth Social.
He's repeated the claim that he never knew Carroll; that her allegations of sexual assault, which a previous jury found him liable for, were "fabricated," and accused her of deleting relevant evidence.
On Saturday, Carroll's attorney responded: She'll be using his words as evidence.
In court filings viewed by Business Insider, Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, notified US District Judge Lewis Kaplan that she intends to submit several pieces of evidence on Monday for the ongoing defamation trial. Carroll's lawsuit centers entirely on the allegation that Trump defamed her by saying she lied about him raping her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.
A spokesperson for Roberta Kaplan declined to provide comment.
One of the exhibits points to a post-hearing press conference Trump had after a testy first day in court on Wednesday.
"I have no idea who she is," Trump said, adding that the case was "a rigged deal. It's a made-up, fabricated story."
During the conference, he also accused Carroll of deleting "massive amounts of evidence." Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, asked for a mistrial on Friday, arguing that Carroll got rid of evidence by deleting emails that contained death threats against the former Elle columnist.
The exhibits also include a Truth Social post that Trump put up on the day Kaplan filed her letter of intent to submit more evidence.
"Until the filing of this ridiculous lawsuit against me, I knew nothing about this woman, never heard of her, never touched her, had nothing to do with her," a Saturday post from Trump's Truth Social account said.
Even before his day in court, Trump continued to attack Carroll on social media, calling the writer's allegations a "fake story" and a "witch hunt."
A jury in May previously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The case, however, was regarding one of two lawsuits Carroll filed against Trump in 2022 under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which provided sexual misconduct accusers one year to file a civil lawsuit even if the statute of limitations has expired.
The current trial is for Carroll's first lawsuit filed in 2019 and will only cover what damages Trump must pay.
A spokesperson for Trump did not return a request for comment.