Former President Donald Trump's effort to countersue New York advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who sued him for defamation after he denied raping her two decades ago, has been rejected by a judge.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Trump had already delayed the 2019 case multiple times, adding that his claims against Carroll are a "futile" and "bad faith" attempt for more delays.
"The defendant's litigation tactics, whatever their intent, have delayed the case to an extent that readily could have been far less," Kaplan wrote. "Granting leave to amend without considering the futility of the proposed amendment needlessly would make a regrettable situation worse by opening new avenues for significant further delay."
As Bloomberg points out, Trump wanted to add a claim to his 2019 lawsuit that Carroll violated New York law by filing a legal complaint he says stifled his right to free speech.
"According to Trump, Carroll's suit violates New York's Anti Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation statute, known as an anti-SLAPP law, which bars the filing of cases intended to chill free speech. Kaplan rejected Trump's argument that Carroll's claim was filed 'without a substantial basis in fact and law,'" Bloomberg reports.
