Donald Trump is set to face trial next week over defamatory comments made about writer E. Jean Carroll in 2019. The former president stated that Carroll had accused him of assaulting her to promote her book.
While the presiding judge has already found Trump liable for defamation, the trial will mostly be about setting damages. In preparation for the trial, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has issued orders blocking Trump and his defense team from discussing Carroll’s attorney selection or the people backing her court fees.
Kaplan has gone further, insisting there are strict limits on what Trump and his lawyers can say about Carroll. The order bars any mention of “Ms. Carroll’s past romantic relationships, sexual disposition, and prior sexual experiences,” and specifically states they may not argue that Trump did not rape Carroll. Furthermore, Trump and his team may not dispute that he sexually abused Carroll or acted with malice when he made his remarks about Carroll as president.
This is the second time that Carroll has taken Trump to court. In May, a jury unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and battery against Carroll in the mid-1990s. Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in damages.
This is not all that Trump is currently battling against. He is facing a gag order in special counsel Jack Smith’s case against him, alleging he conspired to subvert the 2020 election. Furthermore, he has been fined a total of $15,000 in his civil business fraud trial in New York for twice violating the gag order that bars him from referring to court staff.
Despite his requests for immunity from the trial, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit declined to rehear the case. This means that Trump’s final hope of a ruling in his favor would be at the Supreme Court.
