Writer E. Jean Carroll has filed her new lawsuit against former President Donald Trump directly accusing him of perpetrating sexual assault against her in the 1990s.
The lawsuit was filed just after midnight on the East Coast. Carroll was waiting for new state rules in New York to take effect that would provide her an opportunity for legal action despite previous restrictions derived from what are known as statutes of limitations. Separately, Carroll already filed a defamation lawsuit against the ex-president over his response to Carroll originally revealing her account. Trump maligned Carroll’s appearance — which he also did more recently as litigation continued — and tied Carroll’s comments to supposed attempts at promoting some writing she did. Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, recently indicated she intended to consolidate the defamation case with the new lawsuit accusing Trump of assault. A previously available preview of the new lawsuit indicated she would directly accuse Trump of specific offenses, including first-degree rape.
“Dearest friends, tonight, a few minutes after midnight, we filed the rape suit against the former president,” Carroll said in a Thursday post. “The new suit may ruin the former president’s Thanksgiving, but it will be nourishing to every woman who’s ever been grabbed, groped, harassed, pinched, prodded, assaulted, smeared or dragged through the mud by a powerful man. Thank you Robbie Kaplan, Joshua Matz, Matt Craig, Shawn Crowley, and Rachel Tuchman!” Trump previously sat for questioning in the defamation case, although it wasn’t apparently clear how that actually went, meaning how many questions he might’ve answered. He was infamously deflective — refusing to answer hundreds of questions — under questioning for the New York state attorney general’s civil investigation into the Trump business. That probe has now already culminated at least in part in a civil lawsuit hinging on accusations of deceptive valuations of dozens of company assets.
That lawsuit is separate from the trial of the Trump Organization over a tax evasion scheme in which execs were provided high-dollar benefits without the required taxes being paid. Kaplan also indicated she is interested in quickly heading to trial early next year, although the ex-president’s legal team predictably pushed back on the prospect.
Dearest friends, tonight, a few minutes after midnight, we filed the rape suit against the former president.
I give thanks to the greatest civil rights attorneys in the nation:
Robbie Kaplan! Matt Craig! Joshua Matz! Shawn Crowley! Rachel Tuchman!https://t.co/BXrQIXDvmy
— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) November 24, 2022
