A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump's request for a new trial in a civil case where he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming columnist E Jean Carroll, BBC reports.
The jury's verdict from May was upheld, and Trump was ordered to pay $5mn in damages. The former president claimed the amount was excessive, but the judge ruled it was not a "miscarriage of justice." Carroll had accused Trump of rape, but the jury found him guilty of battery instead. Trump's lawyers sought a new trial based on the distinction between rape and sexual abuse, but the judge dismissed the request.
The trial evidence supported that Trump had raped Carroll, according to the judge's decision. Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, expressed satisfaction with the ruling and looked forward to receiving the awarded damages. Carroll also plans to continue holding Trump accountable in a separate defamation trial scheduled for the next year, where she is seeking $10mn for defamatory statements he made in 2019.
The ruling adds to the legal challenges Trump is facing, including potential indictment for his alleged involvement in the January 6 insurrection and criminal charges in New York related to a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. In the hush-money case, a New York judge rejected Trump's request to move the upcoming trial to federal court.
The former president faces felony charges for falsifying business records, and the trial is scheduled for March 2024. Trump argued that the trial should be in federal court as the alleged crimes occurred during his presidency, but the judge disagreed, stating it was not related to any act performed by or for the President.
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