Washignton, United States
E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused former US President Donald Trump of raping her 27 years ago said that he had defamed her for the second time by telling his followers last month that he didn't know her and the rape never happened.
The latest defamation claim is made after Trump called Carroll "a Hoax and a lie" and repeatedly claimed "she's not my type" posting on his social account on October 10.
Also read | Trump Org ex-CFO Weisselberg testifies Trumps played role in defrauding tax authorities
A former Elle magazine columnist, Caroll said that she'll file a lawsuit against Trump on the Thanksgiving Day November 24. A draft of the lawsuit was added in the Thursday filing by her lawyer Roberta Kaplan. They are also suing the former president over the charges of defamation over the statements given earlier.
Whether or not Twitter is here, I will see you in court, Mr. Trump!https://t.co/OtKeNi3rCD
â E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) November 18, 2022
However, in response to Kaplan, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba said, "Typical gamesmanship from Roberta Kaplan."
She added that this filing is inappropriate and said that they will take this matter to court.
Trump said, "E. Jean Carroll is not telling the truth, she is a woman who I had nothing to do with, didn't know, and would have no interest in knowing her if I ever had the chance."
He added, "Now all I have to do is go through years more of legal nonsense in order to clear my name of her and her lawyer's phony attacks on me. This can only happen to 'Trump'!"
The proposed lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation and damages for Trump's statement.
In 2019, Trump denied the rape allegations and said that she made the alleged encounter to sell her forthcoming book. In January, a Washington court will determine whether Trump was acting as a president when the lawsuit was filed. If yes, then Carroll's filing will fail because then he is shielded from defamation claims.
Later in a letter to the court, the writer appealed to delay the hearing to April 10 so that it can cover both lawsuits.
The case is Carroll v. Trump, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-07311.
(With inputs from agencies)