Writer E. Jean Carroll amended a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump on Monday, asking for “very substantial” damages following a CNN town hall in which the former president called her a “whack job.”
Earlier this month, Trump was found liable by a Manhattan jury for sexual abuse and defamation. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages. Trump went on to condemn the verdict both on social media and on live television. In Carroll’s view, a number of the comments Trump made were defamatory and she is now seeking at least $10 million more in damages.
“This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll’s favor both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same,” read the filing.
On his social-media platform Truth Social shortly after the verdict, the former president wrote: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace — a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!”
The next day, Trump went on CNN and was asked to respond to the verdict by host Kaitlan Collins. Trump repeated that he had no idea who Carroll is and added: “This is a fake story — made up story.”
“She’s a whack job,” Trump said.
“Trump also insulted Carroll’s character and downplayed his sexual abuse of her by asking ‘what kind of woman meets someone’ and then ‘within minutes’ plays ‘hanky-panky in a dressing room,'” wrote Carroll’s lawyers.
“Trump’s defamatory statements post-verdict show the depth of his malice toward Carroll since it is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will, or spite,” the filing read.
The former president has repeatedly denied Carroll’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid 1990s. He filed an appeal against the jury’s verdict earlier this month.