Judge allows E. Jean Carroll to amend her defamation lawsuit to seek more damages against Trump

A federal judge will allow E. Jean Carroll to amend her original defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump to include comments he made at a CNN town hall.

Carroll, a former magazine columnist, asked the judge for permission to amend the initial November 2019 lawsuit so she could try to seek additional punitive damages after Trump repeated statements a federal jury found to be defamatory.

The allowance comes as Trump's legal troubles have mounted in recent days. Also Tuesday, the former president was arraigned at a federal courthouse in Miami and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents in a case brought by the Justice Department.

"We look forward to moving ahead expeditiously on E Jean Carroll's remaining claims," Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said Tuesday.

Last month, a jury found in favor of Carroll in her second civil lawsuit, which went to trial. The jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her by denying the attack, saying she wasn't his type and calling her allegations a hoax.

One day later Trump appeared at the CNN Republican presidential town hall and said, "I have no idea who this woman - this is a fake story, made up story." He called Carroll a "whack job" and went on a tangent about her ex-husband and pet cat.

Trump's lawyer opposed the amendment and said they wanted to move to dismiss the original lawsuit, which deals with comments Trump made while president and has been held up on appeal.