On Thursday, former President Donald Trump officially announced plans to appeal this week’s $5 million jury verdict that found him responsible for sexually assaulting and defame writer E. Jean Carroll.
In a filing in federal court in Manhattan, Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, said they were appealing the dollar amount and «all orders, rulings, decrees, decisions, opinions, memoranda, conclusions or adverse findings» of the judge US District Court Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the civil trial.
The court filing comes a day after Trump criticized Kaplan on social media, calling the «Clinton-appointed judge» a «terrible person» and «completely biased.»
«The whole rigged hoax is another charade of justice, a continuation of the greatest political witch hunt of all time!!!» Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.
The verdict reached on Tuesday was officially entered into the court file on Thursday.
Tacopina said in a statement to NBC News on Thursday that the appeals court had struck down Kaplan once before in the litigation, and «we are confident it will be twice after this appeal is heard.»
An attorney for Carroll, 79, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carroll’s assault and defamation lawsuit alleges that Trump, 76, raped her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her in a statement, calling her allegation a «complete rip-off.» «.
The jury did not find Trump liable for rape, but did find him liable for sexual assault, an element of his assault lawsuit, and defamation.
The verdict has not stopped Trump from insulting the former Elle magazine advice columnist. At a CNN town hall on Wednesday night, he referred to her as a «wacko» with a «made up story.»
Trump waived his right to testify in the trial, which began in late April. He said his lawyer recommended that he not go to the witness stand because «it’s a false story and you don’t want to give it credibility.»