A federal judge Monday dismissed former President Trump’s claim that E. Jean Carroll defamed him in May after a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing the writer.

The day after the verdict, Carroll appeared on CNN and indicated Trump had raped her. The jury had not found Trump liable for rape under New York’s definition, but instead found him liable for sexual abuse.

Trump then claimed Carroll’s insistence on CNN amounted to defamation, filing a counterclaim in Carroll’s other lawsuit that has not yet gone to trial.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday dismissed Trump’s argument, ruling Carroll’s statement on the cable network was substantially true and that “[t]here would have been no different effect on the mind of an average listener.”

“The difference between Ms. Carroll’s allegedly defamatory statements — that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as defined in the New York Penal Law — and the ‘truth’ — that Mr. Trump forcibly digitally penetrated Ms. Carroll — is minimal. Both are felonious sex crimes,” Kaplan ruled.

Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, separately rejected Trump’s defense that he has “absolute presidential immunity” in the case.

  • rbhfd@lemmy.world
    52·
    1 year ago

    How does the state of NY define it? But that seems like very clear cut rape to me.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      21·
      1 year ago

      Without going into the sordid details, Carroll couldn’t prove whether Trump used his penis or his finger (although she claims both), and it has to be a penis in New York Law for it to be rape. So it went to the lesser verdict of ‘sexual abuse.’ It’s really a technical thing. Most people would consider him using his finger to be rape too, I would wager.

      • Whirlybird
        2·
        1 year ago

        Most people would consider him using his finger to be rape too, I would wager.

        I’d hope so, because it is.

    • Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.com
      11·
      1 year ago

      NY defines rape as penetration with a penis. Since he penetrated her with his fingers, it could only be considered sexual assault by NY’s definition. Worth noting that she claimed he penetrated her with both, but could only prove in court that he penetrated her with his fingers.

      This judge basically ruled that while he wasn’t found guilty of raping her based on NY’s narrow definition, the colloquial use of the word rape is functionally what he did to her.

      • Whirlybird
        1·
        1 year ago

        Worth noting that she claimed he penetrated her with both, but could only prove in court that he penetrated her with his fingers.

        How on earth did she prove one but not the other?

        Like or hate trump, that civil case was absurd. Claiming you were sexually assaulted yet not even knowing what year you were assaulted? Come on lol.