On Monday, a legal representative for Donald Trump raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving the judge presiding over E Jean Carroll's recent defamation case, suggesting that this issue could cast doubt on the $83.3 million judgment against the former US President.
In a letter submitted to federal court in Manhattan, attorney Alina Habba referenced a January 27 article from the New York Post, which highlighted an alleged prior professional relationship between US District Judge Lewis Kaplan and Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. According to the article, both had worked at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison around the same time in the early 1990s, before Judge Kaplan's appointment to the federal bench in 1994.
The letter expressed concern over this reported connection, suggesting that it could warrant a reassessment of the trial's outcome. Furthermore, it pointed to what it described as the judge's biased treatment of Trump's legal team and favorable treatment of Carroll's side as additional reasons to potentially seek a new trial on both liability and damages.
Trump intends to challenge the $83.3 million verdict handed down on January 26, which stemmed from his denial in June 2019 of Carroll's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Judge Kaplan's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and representatives for Carroll and Roberta Kaplan had not responded to similar inquiries by the time of reporting. However, a spokesperson for Carroll reportedly stated that there was no conflict of interest. The law firm Paul Weiss also remained silent on the matter.
Habba's letter cited the Code of Conduct for US Judges, which outlines circumstances in which judges should recuse themselves from cases where their impartiality might reasonably be questioned. This includes situations where a judge had previously worked with a lawyer involved in the case.
Carroll's $83.3 million verdict comprised $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. Notably, a separate jury last May found Trump liable for defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump is currently appealing that decision, with the previous jury's findings being considered binding for the subsequent trial, focusing solely on determining damages.
