• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

Judge signals Trump may be unable to countersue Jean Carroll in defamation case

Towleroad February 23, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
Reuters
497031 origin 1

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge signaled on Tuesday he may not let Donald Trump countersue E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused the former president of raping her in the mid-1990s and is suing him for defamation.

At a hearing in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan suggested it might be futile for Trump to claim that Carroll’s lawsuit violated a New York “anti-SLAPP” law protecting free speech, citing several courts that found similar laws did not apply in federal court.

“I question whether you have the right to do what you are seeking to do, because it seems to me it’s entirely inconsistent with the notion of futility,” Kaplan told Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba. “It may not be the way I resolve this matter.”

Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, accused Trump in a June 2019 book excerpt of having raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Midtown Manhattan.

She sued five months later, claiming that Trump defamed her when he told a reporter he did not know Carroll, said “she’s not my type,” and accused her of concocting the rape claim to sell her book.

New York’s anti-SLAPP law, short for “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” was enacted in Nov. 2020.

It was meant to protect journalists and others from wealthy companies and people who file frivolous lawsuits to silence critics. How the law might apply to public officials, or former public officials like Trump, remains unclear.

Kaplan questioned why Trump waited until January, 14 months after New York’s law took effect, to invoke it, which Carroll’s lawyers said reflected Trump’s pattern of delaying the case.

“This is about giving us the right to litigate these issues,” Habba said. “That is all I’m asking.”

Kaplan did not say when he will rule.

Both sides are awaiting a decision from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on whether Carroll’s lawsuit should be dismissed because Trump was immune from being sued.

In that appeal, the Biden administration essentially adopted an argument by Trump’s Justice Department that the government should be substituted for Trump as the defendant, which could doom Carroll’s case.

Carroll’s lawyers want to question Trump under oath and compare his DNA with a dress Carroll said she wore during the alleged rape.

The case is Carroll v Trump, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-07311.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Howard Goller)

Topics: Aaon, towleroad

  • Opinion: The Right-Wing Airing of Imaginary Grievances Like Sex Ed Is Not and Never Has Been Used To Groom

    Opinion: The Right-Wing Airing of Imaginary Grievances Like Sex Ed Is Not and Never Has Been Used To Groom

      Published by NJ.com   Let’s start this post off with a small bit of objective truth: There is no such thing as the widespread use of sexual education curriculum to groom young children. None. It …Read More »
  • Tan France gets parenting advice from Gigi Hadid

    Tan France gets parenting advice from Gigi Hadid

      Published by BANG Showbiz English   Tan France gets parenting tips from Gigi Hadid. The 39-year-old star and his husband Rob France welcomed their son Ismail into the world via surrogate last July and he’s …Read More »
  • U.S. health officials releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for monkeypox – CDC

    U.S. health officials releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for monkeypox – CDC

    Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. health officials are in the process of releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for use in monkeypox cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday, adding there …Read More »
  • Dame Angela Lansbury to receive Lifetime Achievement gong at the Tonys

    Dame Angela Lansbury to receive Lifetime Achievement gong at the Tonys

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Dame Angela Lansbury is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement gong at the Tony Awards. The 96-year-old actress – who has won five Tonys during her career – will be honoured …Read More »
Previous Post: « Daniel Radcliffe says portraying ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic is ‘a huge responsibility’
Next Post: Elton John’s Private Jet Forced To Make Emergency Landing After Suffering Hydraulic Failure At 10,000 Feet »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Vladimir Putin’s TV Appearances ‘Staged’ As Russian Leader Continues To Suffer Worsening Health Problems

    Vladimir Putin’s TV Appearances ‘Staged’ As Russian Leader Continues To Suffer Worsening Health Problems

  • US flight brings tons of needed baby formula from Germany

    US flight brings tons of needed baby formula from Germany

  • Courtney Love apologises for ‘bullying’ Amber Heard

    Courtney Love apologises for ‘bullying’ Amber Heard

  • ‘Desperate To Chase His Lost Relevance’: Donald Trump SLAMS Mike Pence’s ‘Plans’ To Run For President In 2024

    ‘Desperate To Chase His Lost Relevance’: Donald Trump SLAMS Mike Pence’s ‘Plans’ To Run For President In 2024

Break

  • Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Noami Ackie join ‘Parasite’ Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s new movie And it Sounds Mind Blowing

    Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and Noami Ackie join ‘Parasite’ Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s new movie And it Sounds Mind Blowing

  • Starbucks to completely exit Russia after Ukraine invasion

    Starbucks to completely exit Russia after Ukraine invasion

  • Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

    Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

  • Vladimir Putin’s Daughter SECRETLY Living In Germany With Man Named Igor Zelensky

    Vladimir Putin’s Daughter SECRETLY Living In Germany With Man Named Igor Zelensky

RSS Partner Links

  • Morning Wood
  • 11 Most Famous & Best Premium Gay Sites Of 2022
  • “Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant & Kyle Mooney left SNL” links
  • Duchess Meghan came out to see Prince Harry’s polo team again this weekend
  • Kourtney Kardashian's Wedding Photos - See Her Multiple Dresses from Italian Affair with Travis Barker!
  • Natalia Dyer Doesn't Really Get The Interest In Her & Charlie Heaton's Real Life Relationship
  • Jamie Foxx Spotted Making Out with Mystery Woman on a Yacht
  • Kevin McGarry & Kayla Wallace To Star in Hallmark's 'My Grown Up Christmas List' Movie Airing During Christmas in July Event
  • OMG, looking for that fresh summer look: Avoid these horrible haircut FAILS

Most Recent

  • ‘The Kids in the Hall’ review: Sketch comedy is a young person’s game — yet here are older guys just ripping into the form as if they never left

    ‘The Kids in the Hall’ review: Sketch comedy is a young person’s game — yet here are older guys just ripping into the form as if they never left

  • Opinion: The Right-Wing Airing of Imaginary Grievances Like Sex Ed Is Not and Never Has Been Used To Groom

    Opinion: The Right-Wing Airing of Imaginary Grievances Like Sex Ed Is Not and Never Has Been Used To Groom

  • Tan France gets parenting advice from Gigi Hadid

    Tan France gets parenting advice from Gigi Hadid

  • U.S. health officials releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for monkeypox – CDC

    U.S. health officials releasing some Jynneos vaccine doses for monkeypox – CDC

  • Dame Angela Lansbury to receive Lifetime Achievement gong at the Tonys

    Dame Angela Lansbury to receive Lifetime Achievement gong at the Tonys

  • Factbox: Seven races to watch in Georgia, Alabama midterm primaries, Texas run-offs

    Factbox: Seven races to watch in Georgia, Alabama midterm primaries, Texas run-offs

  • Cybill Shepherd supports Bruce Willis after aphasia diagnosis

    Cybill Shepherd supports Bruce Willis after aphasia diagnosis

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in