Nov. 5 (UPI) — Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll sued President Donald Trump for defamation, stating his denials of her accusation that he sexually assaulted her more than 20 years ago damaged her reputation.
Carroll filed the suit in the New York Supreme Court on Monday alleging Trump made “express statements and deliberate implications” that accused her of lying about the rape in order to increase sales of her memoir — where she first publicly described the assault — as well as to carry out a political agenda by advancing a conspiracy with the Democratic Party.
She added that Trump’s statements “inflicted emotional pain and suffering, they damaged her reputation and they caused substantial professional harm.”
“Trump knew that these statements were false; at bare minimum he acted with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity,” the complaint stated.
Carroll is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the defamation lawsuit.
“I am filing this on behalf of every woman who has ever been harassed, assaulted, silenced or spoken up only to be shamed, fired, ridiculed and belittled,” Carroll said in a statement. “No person in this country should be above the law — including the president.”
In her memoir, Carroll said Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996.
Trump denied ever meeting her and said that she was trying to sell her book by making the accusation.
In a statement Monday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham described the lawsuit as frivolous and called Carroll a fraud.
“Let me get this straight — Ms. Carroll is suing the president for defending himself against false allegations? I guess since the book did not make any money she’s trying to get paid another way,” said Grisham. “The story she used to try and sell her trash book never happened, period.”
