Appeals court denies Trump's attempt to stay E. Jean Carroll's 2019 lawsuit

A federal appeals court on Wednesday denied former President Donald Trump’s attempt to stay the 2019 defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

The lawsuit by the former Elle magazine columnist is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 15. It alleges that Trump defamed her in 2019 when he said she was "not my type" and accused her of having a political and financial motive when he denied her claim that he raped her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s.

A jury established in a related case that Trump was liable for defaming and battering Carroll.

Trump had sought to pause the 2019 case in order to give him time to invoke an immunity defense, his attorney argued in a hearing Tuesday.

The appeals court Wednesday ordered both sides to submit written briefs in the next 15 days to argue whether Trump should be able to invoke presidential immunity to shield himself from Carroll’s 2019 claim.

The district court judge faulted Trump for waiting more than three years to invoke presidential immunity, long after engaging with the case.

The former president has denied all wrongdoing.