Dem
51
GOP
49
Of money, that is. And E. Jean Carroll just got one step closer to raking in $80 million worth of it, courtesy of Donald Trump. That is because Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected the former president's request to set aside his defamation verdicts and hold a new trial. And it was not a close call, apparently; in his ruling, Kaplan declared: "Mr. Trump's argument is entirely without merit both as a matter of law and as a matter of fact."
Presumably, Trump and his lawyers will appeal Kaplan's ruling. That said, his position is sufficiently weak enough at this point that he might want to think about entering into settlement discussions with Carroll. A figure of, say, $60 million might be satisfactory to her, as it's still more than enough to buy the fancy pet food for her dog. And it would save Trump $25 million or so off what he'll pay once he loses all of his appeals. (Z)