Writer E. Jean Carroll seeks new damages from Donald Trump over comments made on CNN

Two weeks after Donald Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll, there has been a major development in the case.

Two week after a jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll in a department store in the mid-1990s, the writer is suing the former US president for defamation.

The former Elle magazine columnist was awarded $US5 million ($A7.2m) in damages for sexual assault and defamation in a case that marked the first time a former US president has been branded, legally, as a sexual predator.

However, she is now seeking a “very substantial” amount over Mr Trump continuing to attack her on air just a day after she won her case.

Writer E. Jean Carroll was awarded $US5 million ($A7.2m) in damages for sexual assault and defamation. Picture: AFP

The attacks were made in a fiery town hall on CNN, during which the former president bragged about his poll numbers improving after a New York jury found he sexually abused Ms Carroll, said she was a “wack job” and boasted “women let you” grab them without permission “if you’re a star”.

Ms Carroll’s lawyers argue that those comments earlier this month along with Mr Trump adding that the former writer was telling a “made-up story” and that he didn’t know her constituted further “defamatory statements”.

Donald Trump during the CNN town hall. Picture: Twitter

A filing lodged on Monday local time seeks an amendment to a complaint Ms Carroll filed officially in 2019, which is still pending.

In it, her lawyer Roberta Kaplan, argued that Mr Trump’s comments proved he was “undeterred by the jury’s verdict” and had persisted in defaming her client yet again.

“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,” the complaint reads.

“This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll’s favour both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same.”

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a Make America Great Again rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. Picture: AFP

CNN faced backlash over its forum with Mr Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, over why the network would give him prominent airtime.

Earlier this month the jury rejected Ms Carroll’s rape allegation, but found Mr Trump liable for sexual abuse and subsequent defamation when he called her “a complete con job” after she came forward with the allegations.

Mr Trump denies the allegations and has appealed the judgment. No criminal case can stem from Ms Carroll’s lawsuit.

Originally published as Writer E. Jean Carroll seeks new damages from Donald Trump over comments made on CNN