Donald Trump countersues writer E Jean Carroll for defamation

Former US President Donald Trump has sued the writer E Jean Carroll for defamation, alleging she falsely accused him of rape after a jury found he sexually abused her.

Last month, the civil jury in New York found he sexually abused and defamed the columnist but did not rape her.

Mr Trump's claim, filed on Tuesday, relates to comments Ms Carroll made on CNN a day after that verdict.

When asked about Mr Trump's liability for rape, she said "oh yes he did".

The claim is seeking a retraction of that comment as well as unspecified compensation and punitive damages.

A lawyer for Ms Carroll said the filing was "nothing more than his latest effort to delay accountability" for the verdict on 9 May.

Ms Carroll has filed two separate lawsuits against the former president.

One went to trial last month, which is when the jury found Mr Trump liable for sexually abusing the magazine columnist in a department store in the 1990s and defaming her when she went public with the claim in 2019.

She was awarded almost $5m (£3.9m) in damages. Mr Trump is appealing against that verdict and has asked for a new trial.

The other lawsuit is solely about defamation. Ms Carroll amended it after Mr Trump made comments on CNN in which he denied her allegations and made disparaging remarks about her.

She is seeking an additional $10m in damages over those comments.

Mr Trump's latest filing is a counterclaim in that lawsuit and suggests the multi-front legal fight will continue for some time.

The filing alleges Ms Carroll made "false statements with actual malice and ill will" when she was asked in an interview on CNN about the jury finding that Mr Trump was not liable for rape.

According to the claim, she said "oh yes he did, oh yes he did" in response to the question.