MANHATTAN (CN) — Former president Donald Trump's attorneys told a federal judge in New York Tuesday that revised anti-SLAPP laws shield him from a defamation suit brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll.
The suit stems from Carroll's claims that Trump raped her in a dressing room in the 1990s. Despite photos of them together, Trump claimed to have never met her.
“I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type,” then-President Trump said in June 2019. “Number two, it never happened. It never happened.”
Later that year, Carroll brought the defamation suit against Trump alleging his attacks on her character hurt her personally and professionally — leading to her being fired by Elle magazine where she had her “Ask E. Jean” column.
Trump has made many attempts to try to dismiss or delay the suit, which has bounced between the Second Circuit and the Southern District of New York. His attorney Lawrence Rosen had argued that because Trump’s statements Carroll were not made in New York — and because he left his longtime Empire State residence for Washington, D.C., — the New York court lacked jurisdiction to try the case.
In the latest approach, attorneys for Trump told U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan that revamped anti-SLAPP laws shieldthe former president.
The attorneys are relying on a section enacted in November 2020 that is meant to deter “bad actors” from continuing to bring malicious lawsuits that are designed to hinder an individual's ability to speak freely on matters of public concern.
Representing Trump, Alina Habba asked Kaplan to grant their motion to allow Trump to amend his answer to the initial complaint and allow him to bring a counterclaim.
Kaplan appeared unconvinced, pushing back on Habba as to why it took them roughly 14 months to bring the motion.
Habba said there were several reasons for delays, including that it was not possible to litigate while Trump was a sitting president.
Kaplan scoffed at that notion.
“You can't litigate while you're a sitting president, are you kidding me?” asked Kaplan.
The attorney circled back to a point she frequented throughout arguments — that Kaplan did not need to address the merits of the case, but only needed to decide on the motion.
Kaplan snapped back again, pressing that he understood her point but questioned whether claims brought under New York's anti-SLAPP laws have a place in federal court.
“Repetition is not going to get me more on board,” said Kaplan, a Clinton appointee.
Kaplan previously shot down efforts by then-President Trump to deploy the Department of Justice to shield him from this suit in October 2020.
Trump was back at the Second Circuit last December seeking to overturn that ruling, arguing that he was using his power of office when he made the alleged defamatory comments about Carroll. The appeals court has not yet reached a decision.
Representing Carroll, Roberta Kaplan said that this has dragged out long enough and that her client would just like to get to discovery, which has not yet taken place in this case.
Neither Habba nor Kaplan, with the firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink, immediately responded to requests for comment.
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