E. Jean Carroll visits ‘Tell Me All the things’ with John Fugelsang within the SiriusXM Studios on July 11, 2019 in Latest York.
Noam Galai | Getty Images
A judge on Wednesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s to delay answering questions under oath next week in a federal lawsuit accusing him of defaming a author when he claimed she lied and was motivated by money when she said he raped her in a Latest York department store within the Nineties.
Judge Lewis Kaplan also denied Trump’s request to substitute the U.S. government into the case as a defendant, replacing him, on the grounds that the alleged defamation of creator E. Jean Carroll occurred when he was president.
Kaplan called that request “a second bite at that apple.” He noted that he previously denied a Justice Department motion to substitute Trump as a defendant on the identical grounds.
If the federal government was substituted for Trump within the lawsuit, it could effectively kill Carroll’s case because the federal government would then invoke the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which protects it from being sued without consent.
Kaplan’s ruling in Manhattan federal court sets the stage for Trump to be deposed by Carroll’s attorneys on Oct. 19., at the same time as a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., weighs questions that would determine whether her lawsuit will be allowed to proceed.
Carroll is scheduled to be deposed on Friday. In a 2019 Latest York magazine article, she wrote that Trump raped her in a dressing room on the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan within the mid-Nineties.
Greater than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Trump has denied each accusation.
Wednesday’s ruling also raises the chance that the defamation case could go to trial in February as currently scheduled while awaiting a ruling within the appeals court.
A federal appeals court in Latest York last month reversed Kaplan’s earlier ruling that said that Trump was not acting as an “worker” of the U.S. government when he denied Carroll’s allegation. Trump also accused her of creating up the rape claim with a purpose to sell a book she wrote, and for political reasons.
Trump’s lawyers then unsuccessfully argued to Kaplan that the federal government was robotically substituted into the case because the defendant.
The Latest York appeals court also asked its sister appeals court in Washington to find out whether Trump made the statement about Carroll throughout the scope of his employment, as defined under local District of Columbia law. The D.C. appeals court has yet to rule on that issue.
CNBC Politics
Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:
Kaplan said in Wednesday’s ruling that Trump has not shown a required “strong likelihood of success” in that appellate process to warrant further delays in Carroll’s lawsuit, which has been pending since 2019. The judge said that further delaying the case would “cause substantial injury” to Carroll.
“Because the Court noted in an earlier opinion within the case, ‘defendant’s litigation tactics have had a dilatory effect, and, indeed, strongly suggest that he’s acting out of a robust desire to delay any opportunity plaintiff could have to present her case against him,” Kaplan said.
The ruling comes as Carroll prepares to sue Trump in Latest York state court under a recent law, the Adult Survivors Act, that lifted the statute of limitations of claims of rape and sexual abuse within the state.
Carroll could use Trump’s deposition within the federal case within the planned state litigation, as Kaplan noted in his ruling Wednesday.
“The query whether Mr. Trump in reality raped Ms. Carroll is central to this case,” Kaplan wrote. “But it is going to be central also to the brand new case that just about definitely can be filed on November 24, 2022 or soon thereafter.”
“Accordingly, discovery and evidence referring to whether or not the alleged rape occurred is relevant to each cases,” said Kaplan.
Discovery refers back to the exchange of evidence and taking of depositions, or testimony under oath, before a case is presented to a jury at trial.
“Mr. Trump has pointed to no discovery or other proceedings that will occur on this case absent a stay that will not be relevant also to the upcoming recent case,” the judge wrote.
Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who will not be related to the judge, said in an announcement, “We’re pleased that Judge Kaplan agreed with our position not to remain discovery on this case.
“We look ahead to filing our case under the Adult Survivors Act and moving forward to trial with all dispatch,” she said.
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said in an announcement, “We look ahead to establishing on the record that this case is, and at all times has been, entirely without merit.”
