A federal judge Monday dismissed former President Trumpā€™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 Yorkā€™s definition, but instead found him liable for sexual abuse.

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

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday dismissed Trumpā€™s argument, ruling Carrollā€™s statement on the cable network was substantially true and that ā€œ[t]here would have been no different effect on the mind of an average listener.ā€

ā€œThe difference between Ms. Carrollā€™s allegedly defamatory statements ā€” that Mr. Trump ā€˜rapedā€™ her as defined in the New York Penal Law ā€” and the ā€˜truthā€™ ā€” that Mr. Trump forcibly digitally penetrated Ms. Carroll ā€” is minimal. Both are felonious sex crimes,ā€ Kaplan ruled.

Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, separately rejected Trumpā€™s defense that he has ā€œabsolute presidential immunityā€ in the case.

  • Whirlybird
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    1 year ago

    No he isnā€™t lol. Youā€™re not a convicted rapist unless you get convicted for rape/sexual assault. There were no criminal charges, no conviction. She won a dubious civil suit where she doesnā€™t even know what year she was assaulted.

    • DrZoidberg@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Why would you defend a rapist? Trump is a rapist, as proven in court. Forcibly fingering someone is rape, by definition.

      Trump is a rapist piece of shit. This was proven in court. It was been affirmed he is a rapist when his defamation case was tossed, because the statements that he raped Carroll are factual, and cannot be considered defamatory, because he is, in fact, a rapist.

      • Whirlybird
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        1 year ago

        Why would you defend a rapist?

        Why would you take anything I said as ā€œdefendingā€ him? Read it again.

        Youā€™re not a convicted rapist when you havenā€™t been convicted. There is no conviction in a civil suit. He was not criminally charged.

        Civil suits are not the same as criminal ones. The burden of proof is significantly higher in a criminal case, which is likely why she went the civil route - because she knew that she would never win a criminal suit.