President Trump appears to have a new target in his retribution campaign – agony aunt E Jean Carroll.
She’s as tough as old boots but I fear for her well-being. Now 82, a few years older than him, she’s going to need every ounce of strength she has to face down new challenges to the case against the man she accused of sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of a New York department store 30 years ago.
Carroll is back in the spotlight because the US Justice Department is reportedly opening a criminal investigation into the source of funding for her defamation case against Trump, after he angrily denied all her allegations against him.
Weakened and out of office in 2023-24, when two juries found in Carroll’s favour, he now possesses the full might of the US presidency in his fight for vindication.
Trump currently owes Carroll $5m for calling her a “liar” and a “nut job”, and a further $83.3m in punitive damages awarded for continuing to insult her. He is hoping the conservative-leaning Supreme Court will overturn both verdicts, but they have yet to decide whether to take on the case.
