Her lawyers have since filed an amended complaint to a 2019 defamation lawsuit, separate to the case decided on May 9, which said that Mr Trump “undeterred by the jury’s verdict, persisted in maliciously defaming Carroll yet again” on CNN.
Roberta Kaplan, Ms Carroll’s lawyer, wrote: “Those statements resulted in enthusiastic cheers and applause from the audience on live TV.”
The document read: “Trump’s defamatory statements post-verdict show the depth of his malice toward Carroll since it is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill-will or spite.”
CNN faced a backlash after the television special, which took place in front of a pro-Republican audience who gave Mr Trump a standing ovation. But other critics said that he should be allowed to offer his own version of events.
Ms Carroll’s lawyers added: “Trump used a national platform to demean and mock Carroll.
“He egged on a laughing audience as he made light of his violent sexual assault, called Carroll names, implied that Carroll was asking to be assaulted, and dismissed the jury’s verdict vindicating Carroll.”
The amended lawsuit has been mired in legal appeals. Mr Trump’s lawyers argue that the ex-president’s responses to journalists’ queries about the allegations in 2019 when he was in office were part of his government job, which could mean he would be immune from liability.
