An attorney representing E. Jean Carroll has indicated the journalist could sue Donald Trump for a third time, as the former president continues to speak about her client publicly.
Speaking on MSNBC's Inside With Jen Psaki on Monday night, Shawn Crowley, an attorney for Carroll, responded to the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination telling supporters at a Michigan rally on Saturday that he had not done anything wrong to Carroll, whom he claimed he did not know, and that lawsuits against him were "unfair."
In January, a New York City jury ordered that the former president must pay $83.3 million in damages to the former Elle columnist, for statements made in 2019. He said she was lying about allegations that he sexually assaulted her inside a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. That amount includes $7.3 million in compensatory damages, $11 million for reputational repair, and $65 million in punitive damages. He has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal the verdict.
Trump was previously ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages in May in another civil defamation trial stemming from a denial he made about her claims in 2022. He is appealing that decision and has set aside $5.55 million with the Manhattan Court as part of that process. Newsweek contacted a representative for Trump by email to comment on this story.
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the press on February 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former president has continued to criticize the journalist in public statements. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the press on February 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former president has continued to criticize the journalist in public statements. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
At his rally, Trump has said: "A woman, I'm saying, 'Who the hell is she? Who is the woman?' It's so unfair what's happening in our country," he said, referring to Carroll. "Our court system is a mess. What's happening in our country, they have to straighten it out."
Asked whether comments Trump made could warrant a third lawsuit, Crowley said: "What he said was absolutely a lie. Two unanimous federal juries have found that not only did Trump know who E. Jean was, he sexually assaulted her and lied about it repeatedly. Everything he said about her over the last five years has been a lie and has been defamatory."
"So we're watching, we're listening," she continued. "We had really hoped that, as the jury found, that $83 million dollars would maybe be enough to convince him to keep E. Jean Carroll's name out of his mouth, apparently he showed us this weekend that he really cannot control himself and that maybe it wasn't but we will see what happens as this continues to play out."
Attorney for E. Jean Carroll @shawngcrowley: "We're watching. We had really hoped that, as the jury found, $83 million dollars would maybe be enough to convince him to keep E. Jean Carroll's name out of his mouth...He showed us this weekend that he really cannot control himself." pic.twitter.com/9eYryURgq5 — Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) February 20, 2024
Trump's remarks in Michigan also drew criticism on social media, with many speculating he could be sued again. However, attorney Bradley Moss wrote that Trump was "close, but he didn't cross the line" in his remarks.
Carroll has also indicated she could sue Trump again. In January, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked Carroll about Trump's post-trial behavior. She said he has been posting links online to articles that attacked the journalist and denied her claims.
Maddow said: "If it came to it, if your lawyers told you there was another case and you should go back and get more money out of him would you do it?"