NEW YORK The writer E. Jean Carroll on Monday sought to amend the first of two defamation lawsuits she filed against Donald Trump, arguing that the former president's statements after a jury found him liable in the second suit warranted "very substantial" damages.

A federal jury in Manhattan on May 9 found Trump sexually abused Carroll in the 1990s and then defamed her by lying about it in October 2022. The jury ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump has appealed the verdict and has called Carroll's claims a "complete con job."

On Monday, Carroll's lawyers pointed to Trump's posts on Truth Social calling the verdict a "disgrace" and criticism of Carroll on CNN on May 10 in arguing that she should be allowed to amend her earlier lawsuit, which alleges Trump defamed her by denying the incident in 2019 comments, while he was president.

"Trump's defamatory statements post-verdict show the depth of his malice toward Carroll since it is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will or spite," her lawyers wrote. "This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award."

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)