Trump loses latest bid for new E Jean Carroll defamation trial

A federal court denied former president Donald Trump’s request to have a new trial related to the charges that he defamed writer E Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault.

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York handed down the denial on Thursday after Mr Trump had sought a new trial.

In May 2023, a jury found Mr Trump liable for sexually abusing Ms Carroll. Then, earlier this year, a jury determined that Mr Trump for defaming Ms Carroll, with $65mn in punitive damages and $18mn in compensatory damages.

In response, Mr Trump posted a $91.6mn bond to appeal the verdict against him.

But the court denied Mr Trump’s request in a ruling on Thursday. Specifically,

“Contrary to the defendant’s arguments, Ms. Carroll’s compensatory damages were not awarded solely for her emotional distress; they were not for garden variety harms; and they were not excessive.,” Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote.

Judge Kaplan also proceeded to refute the four parts of Mr Trump’s argument. Mr Trump’s attorneys had argued that the court could only award punitive damages to Ms Carroll if Mr Trump was motivated solely by a desire to injure her.

“The Court rejects that argument essentially for the reasons stated by Ms. Carroll in her opposition,” the court wrote.

Mr Trump also argued that he deserved a new case Ms Carroll’s had to provide “punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence,” which the court refuted.

“Thus, the New York law binding this Court is that the standard of proof of punitive damages in defamation cases is the preponderance of the evidence,” the court wrote. “There was no error in the Court’s charge to the jury on this point.”

The court also refuted Mr Trump’s claim that the damages award was