Former US President Donald Trump was again found liable on Wednesday for defaming the author who accused him of rape, E. Jean Carroll, a decision that opens the way for further damages in the case, AFP reported.

Donald Trump, who is hoping to win back the White House in 2024, was already sued in a New York civil court last May for “sexually assaulting” the former Elle magazine columnist in 1996, as well as defaming her for comments. manufactured in October 2022.

But E. Jean Carroll also filed a complaint against Donald Trump’s previous statements in 2019 after his first rape allegations in the book.

In June 2019, the then US president said that the author made up the allegations to “sell a new book”.

That 2019 lawsuit was delayed due to procedural battles, but it ended with a second jury trial set for January 15, 2024.

Judge Lewis Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York already ruled on Wednesday, based on a ruling handed down in May, that Donald Trump’s comments in 2019 were also “defamatory”, “false” and “malicious”.

This means that the jury’s jurisdiction will be limited to deciding the amount of damages that Donald Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll.

“We remain very confident that the decision will be overturned on appeal, which will make Wednesday’s decision moot,” said Alina Hubba, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers.