Donald Trump is suing E. Jean Carroll over his own defamation claim

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(ABC NEWS) Former President Donald Trump is now suing the writer who sued him for defamation.

Trump is accusing E. Jean Carroll of defaming him when, after a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting her but not raping her as she initially claimed, Carroll went on television and insisted that he raped her.

“In response to that particular inquiry, Counterclaim Defendant ignored the jury’s finding that Counterclaimant did not rape her, and replied: ‘Oh yes he did, oh yes he did,'” the lawsuit says.

Trump’s counterclaim said Carroll’s statements following his successful battery and defamation lawsuit caused “substantial damage to his reputation,” making him eligible for compensatory and punitive damages.

The former president’s case also centers on statements Carroll said he made privately to defense attorney Joe Tacopina at the end of the trial.

“In particular, the Counterclaim Defendant said in the Interview that he emphatically told Mr. Tacopina at the end of the trial that ‘she did it and you know it,’ reaffirming her statement that the Counterclaimant raped her. The Counterclaim Defendants made these statements knowing each of them to be false or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity,” Trump’s lawsuit said.

A jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages in May. Trump’s attorney recently put $5.5 million into a court-controlled account while the defense pursues an appeal of the jury’s verdict and damage award.

In a statement, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, called Trump’s counterclaim an attempt to delay accountability.

“Donald Trump has again argued, contrary to both logic and reality, that he was acquitted by a jury that found he sexually abused E Jean Carroll by forcing his fingers into her genitalia. Four of five statements in Trump’s so-called counterclaim were made outside New York’s one-year statute of limitations. The other statements would not withstand a motion to dismiss,” Kaplan said.

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