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.
Just a reminder that Trump is a convicted rapist, by definition of the word rape. It’s legally defined as sexual assault in NY.
Trump is a convicted rapist.
Not convicted, because it wasn’t a criminal trial. But the trial did determine it was a kind of sexual assault that, while not legally fitting the term rape in New York State, can colloquially be considered such. Which is why Carroll has every right to say he raped her.
How does the state of NY define it? But that seems like very clear cut rape to me.
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.
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.
Wait. Really? Still? What backwards planet are we still living that one of the largest states has deemed that men can’t be raped by women?
So much losing
Yet the Rubes keep on donating…
At some point you’d think people would get sick of it. But the media keeps talking about his bullshit, his supporters still love him, and the rest of us are enjoying the endless losing.
I am however starting to hit a wall with him period.
Someone had an extension that could block him from what you saw on the internet, and I’m starting to think about getting set up.
Glad I don’t live my life in a way where I’d have to shout “defamation” in order to cover up being a giant piece of shit human being.
Also not raping people really cuts down on your legal problems
You’d think so.
A rapist, philanderer, incest enthusiast, fucks porn stars, embezzles funds, multiple bankrupt man is somehow idolized as a paragon of Christianity.
Wait…did you think Christianity has anything to do with the teachings of Christ? That’s silly. You’re silly.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
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.”
Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, separately rejected Trump’s defense that he has “absolute presidential immunity” in the case.
In May, a jury heard one of those cases and found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defaming Carroll last year by denying her story.
“We are pleased that the Court dismissed Donald Trump’s counterclaim,” Carroll attorney Robbie Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, said in a statement.
“That means that the January 15th jury trial will be limited to a narrow set of issues and shouldn’t take very long to complete,” she continued.
Jean Carroll looks forward to obtaining additional compensatory and punitive damages based on the original defamatory statements Donald Trump made in 2019.”
I’m a bot and I’m open source!
