Despite a jury’s decision that ordered him to pay E. Jean Carroll $5 million, despite her having a separate defamation lawsuit pending, Donald Trump once again on Wednesday is publicly going after the 79-year old journalist whose case, should she win, could add another $10 million or more to her coffers.
Wednesday morning Trump resurfaced what appears to be an 11-year old Facebook post from Carroll, which has been making its way around far-right wing blogs, and ordinarily would have served to stoke his ego. He posted a screenshot of it to his Truth Social account.
The first part of Carroll’s post reads, “I’m a MASSIVE Apprentice fan” – referring to Trump’s former reality TV show.
The second part simply says, “Two many good TV shows on Sunday Night! My God! What do YOU watch?”
Atop the image of her remarks, Trump on Wednesday wrote, “Is she, in actuality, a stalker?”
Carroll’s expert attorney is Robbie Kaplan, perhaps best-known for successfully representing LGBT icon Edie Windsor at the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case that overturned a large section of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.
On Monday Kaplan amended Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against Trump to include his remarks about Carroll that he made during his recent CNN town hall. In that lawsuit Carroll is asking for $10 million.
On Tuesday, undeterred, Trump again went after Carroll, “reiterating the same statements about her he’s been making since 2019,” as MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted.
Among them are Trump’s repeated claim he doesn’t know Carroll, and “never met her or touched her.” He also alleged Tuesday she had previously made a racist remark about her then-husband. In addition to other claims, the ex-president called Carroll’s allegations “Fake” and “Made Up.” And in all-caps, he called it a “scam” and the trial “unfair.”
Rubin also explained that on Tuesday Trump was to appear before a judge who could have brought the hammer down on the ex-president for his social media remarks in a separate case, his Manhattan criminal indictment.
After his appearance, Mother Jones reported, “Donald Trump was summoned to appear Tuesday before a Manhattan judge, who warned the former president that he could face additional legal trouble if he publicly rants about the evidence against him in his criminal fraud case—a recurring problem during the E. Jean Carroll sexual assault lawsuit earlier this month. Trump’s virtual appearance was brief, and New York judge Juan Merchan spoke to him gently. But the message was clear: Do not try to mess with this trial.”