Trump loses bid to sue rape accuser E Jean Carroll

Journalist filed a defamation suit against the former president in 2019 alleging she was raped in the mid-1990s

Donald Trump has lost a legal bid to countersue journalist E Jean Carroll who has accused him of raping her nearly 20 years ago.

In a scathing decision released on Friday, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Mr Trump’s continuing attempts to delay the 2019 case were “futile” and in “bad faith”.

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“The defendant’s litigation tactics, whatever their intent, have delayed the case to an extent that readily could have been far less,” Judge Kaplan wrote.

“Granting leave to amend without considering the futility of the proposed amendment needlessly would make a regrettable situation worse by opening new avenues for significant further delay.”

Letting Mr Trump countersue “would make a regrettable situation worse,” the judge added.

E. Jean Carroll leaving a Manhattan courthouse in February after a hearing in her defamation case against Mr Trump

(Associated Press)

Ms Carroll, 78, has alleged that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. Mr Trump has denied the allegations.

In November 2019, Ms Carroll sued Mr Trump for defamation over statements he made in response to the allegations.

Friends, stand by for news about Carroll v. Trump . . . pic.twitter.com/qcQTwdQvxw

— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) March 11, 2022

Ms Carroll’s contention is that statements made by Mr Trump in response to the allegations caused her “to suffer reputational, emotional, and professional harm”.

In a statement released after the ruling, Ms Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan noted that Judge Kaplan said this case “could have been tried and decided – one way or the other – long ago”.

“My client E. Jean Carroll and I could not agree more,” Ms Kaplan said.

A lawyer for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ms Carroll originally filed her lawsuit in state court, but the case moved to federal court in September 2020, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened to substitute Mr Trump’s private legal team with government lawyers.

Last year, the DOJ indicated it would continue to represent Mr Trump, despite President Joe Biden previously criticising the move to fund his litigation.

At a hearing in February, Ms Kaplan told Judge Kaplan they were requesting a sample of the former president’s DNA.