Trump seeks new trial or reduced damages in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case
CBS News Donald Trump is asking a federal court to order a new trial in the civil case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll or to reduce the damages awarded to her by a jury that found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
The former president's attorneys argued in a filing on Thursday that the $5 million verdict was "grossly excessive."
Carroll accused Trump of attacking her in a department store changing room during a chance encounter in the mid-1990s, and then of defaming her after she went public with the story in 2019.
Trump's attorneys argued in the new filing that a $2 million portion of the award was excessive because the jury did not find him liable for rape.
Trump has denied assaulting Carroll and claimed her story was fabricated. She testified that they had been amiably walking through the store, joking during a light conversation, before Trump pushed her against a wall, her head slamming against it, and forcefully penetrated her with his hand and penis.
