From where I sit, in his anger over LOSING against E. Jean Carroll Trump is making like Wile E. Coyote and running/driving full speed over the edge of a cliff.
To no one’s surprise Trump’s appealing the jury’s verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case. Even if the jury had awarded only a dollar in damages Trump would have appealed. He lost and as we know his ego can’t handle losing. His “brand” is built on him being a winner and he mostly got his butt handed to him, bright red from the spanking the jury gave him.
What I want to remind everyone of is that the jury had TEN separate “counts” to consider and rule on during their deliberations. Trump was lucky enough that legal technicalities (plus I insist cowardice with a dose of societal attitudes about rape that favor defendants instead of victims) got him off the hook on the 1st question, the Yes/No regarding rape. But they nailed his saggy old man scrotum to the wall on the other nine allegations and when the amounts of damages get added up it comes to a little over five million bucks. Like I said, even one dollar in damages would have been one dollar too much for Trump. Not even being let off the hook for rape matters either because he’s still been ruled a sexual predator and that he committed sexual assault.
News Trump turned right around and said he was appealing is like the news lead every day is that the sun rose in the east.
But here’s the thing – so much of the focus has been on the rape/sexual assault part of the trial. However, part of what the jury was asked to rule on was whether Trump had defamed Carroll. That he lied about multiple things by denying not just his attack (RAPE!) but that he knew her or ever met her, AND took it to the next step and made insulting remarks about her.  The jury, on multiple questions they had to answer said yes, Trump had lied and also that he defamed Carroll. And hit him in the wallet for doing so!
Now, if you or I lost a case that involved lying about and defaming someone and intended to appeal we sure as hell wouldn’t need a lawyer to tell us to STFU and let them handle things. Even so, ANY lawyer(s) would tell their client that in as blunt terms as possible. However this is Donald effing Trump we are talking about. And one of the so many things we wish we didn’t know but have bitterly learned about him is that when he feels wronged (which includes any criticism, even when criticism/accusations are true and provable) he lashes out.
The one thing he will NOT do is be silent.
Since the verdict Trump has been on Truth Social continuing to lie about matters the jury already ruled he lied about, AND continuing to insult, to defame Carroll!
Including last night on national TV when to what should be their everlasting shame CNN gave Trump an hour and a half in prime time to spread all manner of lies. Including about Carroll and the trial and he even got the audience in on mocking her and the whole thing!
I’ve said plenty of times I’m not a lawyer. But in the years before I headed off to the Marines my best friend was one and his influence caused me to learn at least some things. I can usually decipher laws when I look them up, legal opinions and stuff but I confess I never learned all that much about actual rules for appeals. However I think as with so much involving state law things vary some from state to state.
Overall however it’s my understanding that appeals are by law/rule narrow in scope – as in to the actual record of the trial in question. That can and does include investigative stuff because it gets introduced at trial, and more importantly if something was excluded that under the law should have been allowed that might result in a reversal or a remand. In the same vein something that was allowed that shouldn’t have been carries the same consequences. Then things get even more technical. Rulings on pre-trial motions which go beyond what is allowed in to or excluded from evidence a jury will hear. Venue. Timing (did the defense get adequate time), was the defense adequately represented (sadly a crappy prosecutor blowing a case can’t be appealed by the govt. for a do-over) and other stuff.
Then there are things in the trial itself. Objections the judge has to rule on. Attempts (sometimes in the jury’s presence, sometimes not but still with the Court Reporter at work) to revisit pre-trial rulings due to what’s transpired. Let’s get a bit more specific. A lawyer might raise an objection knowing the judge is likely to rule against them BUT believing the law is (or might be seen by a different judge/judges) on their side formally raise it anyway. To ensure it’s part of the record! That’s the key – creating a record for the judges (and maybe someday Justices) to consider during an Appeal.
Generally speaking, it’s my understanding that new information/evidence about events AFTER a trial has concluded are at best difficult to introduce into an appellate brief. However (and lawyers please correct me if I’m wrong about any of this) there are in fact circumstances where it can happen.
The trial jury held that Trump lied about multiple things and in the process defamed E. Jean Carroll. No one expected Trump to back down if he lost. However, he’s not only NOT keeping his fat mouth shut and his stubby thumbs away from his phone/keyboard he’s DOUBLING DOWN! Including as I said on national TV.
How can any judge hearing his appeal not take that into consideration?
Trump won’t pay up, and will have to have the money taken from him by the courts. He sure as hell won’t apologize either. He will continue his lies about and defamation of Carroll until the day he dies, just as we all know will be the case with the 2020 election. Also, it’s a safe bet that just as Trump has done with “The Big Lie” (the election) he will hit up his MAGA goobers for money. The only question in my mind is whether the money will go into the existing bogus “legal expenses” fund or if he’ll create a new one for the Carroll case.
IF as I hope there’s a legal way to introduce Trump’s rants on his little Truth Social site and TV interviews or horror shows like CNN put on last night there will come a point when like Wile E. Coyote he’s blown right past the edge of the cliff, and gravity takes over.  For that long, long fall. Except instead of a “poof” sound that I preferred or the crash sound that came to be used instead the sound Trump’s bloated orange a$$ will make is “splat.”
I saw a report last night, from Reuters, saying that Trump had sued Michael Cohen for $500 million. Cohen and his lawyers are rightfully point out that this is pure vengeance and retaliation on Trump’s part. The case was filed shortly after Trump was indicted in Manhattan.
Trump is contending that Cohen violated attorney/client privelege and lied about various things. I think it’s hilarious because all Michael Cohen did was tell the truth and he had a paper trail to back it up on the hush money payments. Between these 2 cases alone, old Trump’s blood pressure must be sky high.
The truth is the ultimate defense against libel accusations. The trouble with Trump is that he doesn’t know what truth is, since he’s never used it.
I’d love for any appeal court judge to turn round and tell him “I think the jury was too lenient – – it’s now going to cost you $10 million”
I don’t know the legal set-up that side of the pond, but over here an appeal court judge can actually increase any sentence if he thinks it was too mild (usually that only happens if the prosecution appeals, but it has been known for the defence to end up with egg-spattered faces if they appealed on shaky grounds
Thanks CNN for moving us inexorably toward fascism. If it happens, then you board members need to go into hiding during the revolution. When the call comes to rise up against you nazis, there are those who will answer. The Ukrainians should be a history lesson for you traitors.