The judge also said Trump’s criticism of Carroll went beyond “the outer perimeter of his official duties” as president.
“Mr Trump does not identify any connection between the allegedly defamatory content of his statements – that Ms Carroll fabricated her sexual assault accusation and did so for financial and personal gain – to any official responsibility of the president,” Kaplan wrote. “Nor can the court think of any.”
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is appealing the US$5 million jury verdict.
On Tuesday (Jun 27), he countersued Carroll, claiming that she defamed him in a CNN interview one day after the May 9 verdict by saying, “Oh yes he did, oh yes he did,” when asked about the jury finding that he did not commit rape.
Carroll’s original lawsuit is scheduled for a Jan 15, 2024, trial.
She is seeking at least US$10 million in damages. Kaplan this month let her amend her lawsuit to add Trump’s comments from a CNN town hall following the jury verdict, in which he called her account “fake” and labeled her a “whack job”.
The case is Carroll versus Trump, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-07311.
Source: CNA
