Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, limited the coming trial to only considering questions about monetary damages, granting E. Jean Carroll’s motion for summary judgement. Kaplan found that a New York jury’s decision regarding a related case in May established Trump’s statements were false and made with actual malice. …

“The jury’s finding that Mr. Trump’s 2022 statement was false is controlling in this case,” Kaplan wrote.

[Eh, I’m not so sure that this will hold up. This should have been determined by a new jury, since it was a new alleged injury. Let’s see what the appellate court does with the all-but-certain appeal of this ruling. I’m still a little skeptical that defending yourself against allegations made in public via denials constitutes ‘actual malice,’ so that’s another point to watch in the appeal process. — Ed]