Why is Trump back in court for another E Jean Carroll trial?

Opening arguments will begin the defamation lawsuit on Tuesday, and the former president said he would attend

Former president Donald Trump will be back in a New York City federal courthouse on Tuesday for a trial to determine the damages he owes columnist E Jean Carroll after defaming her, again.

The trial arrives approximately four months after Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Mr Trump defamed Ms Carroll in 2019 when he denied sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodmans in the mid-1990s.

Ms Carroll first came forward with allegations of rape during Mr Trump’s presidency in her book What Do We Need Men For? He denied the allegations and claimed, “She’s not my type”.

Now, next week’s trial will focus only on the damages that Mr Trump owes Ms Carroll for making the defamatory statements. Judge Kaplan made the decision after the jury in a separate defamation trial found Mr Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

The previous defamation trial focused on statements Mr Trump made on Truth Social in 2022 in which he called Ms Carroll’s rape allegations “a Hoax and a lie”.

After Ms Carroll’s grueling testimony about Mr Trump’s assault, the jury in that case found that Mr Trump was liable for sexual abuse (but not rape) as well as defamation and awarded Ms Carroll $5m.

Judge Kaplan ruled that because the 2019 statements are “substantially the same” as the 2022 statements, this trial and case are limited to the issue of damages only.

Now Ms Carroll must show a jury what damages, if any, Mr Trump owes her for claiming he had never met her, she was not his type and that her allegations of rape were false.

So far, Mr Trump’s legal team has sought to dismiss or delay the case by countersuing, claiming the jury’s awards were excessive, claiming he had presidential immunity and more. So far, Judge Kaplan and a US Court of Appeals have denied those requests.

Judge Kaplan has also made it clear to Mr Trump’s legal team that they may not present evidence challenging the facts of the case that have already been determined by a jury in the case last year.

The former president said he will attend opening statements at the New York City courthouse on Tuesday. He told reporters he would go “To explain I don’t know who the hell [Ms Carroll] is” – a claim he has often made about the columnist.

Ms Carroll’s lawyer has asked Judge Kaplan to limit what Mr Trump may testify about to prevent him from speaking contrary to the facts of the case which have already been determined.

The trial is set to begin at 9.30am on Tuesday.