The Vindication of E. Jean Carroll
New Yorker
The Facts
Attorneys for former US Pres. Donald Trump on Thursday filed an appeal of Tuesday’s jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
Also Thursday, Carroll said she might file another lawsuit against Trump because of comments he made on Wednesday during a nationally televised town hall on CNN, which saw him call her a “whack job.”
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump is right to appeal the result of this trial that was run by a Democrat-appointed, politically biased judge who denied his team’s right to present crucial evidence. Trump doesn’t even know Carroll, who seemingly made up this story and filed a suit to slander his reputation ahead of the upcoming election.
Democratic narrative
This is a Hail Mary by Trump’s representatives aimed at stalling long enough to find a technicality to change the outcome of this trial. Nearly a dozen witnesses testified on Carroll’s behalf, and it took less than three hours for the jury to make up its mind. Trump has fumbled his way through this defamation saga for years, and his lies — and sins — have finally caught up to him and are here to stay.
