A New York jury on Friday ordered former US President and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll.
The jury found Trump guilty of sexually assaulting Carroll and subsequently defaming her. The amount awarded significantly exceeds the over $10 million in defamation damages initially sought by Carroll.
The verdict came after a two-week trial during which Carroll testified about the alleged assault, which she claims took place in a New York department store dressing room in 1996. Trump denied the allegations and called Carroll a “liar” and a “fraud.”
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before reaching their decision. Judge Lewis Kaplan awarded Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, $7.3 million in compensatory damages, and $11 million for a reputational repair program.
Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, immediately vowed to appeal the verdict. He called the jury’s decision “ridiculous” and “a total witch hunt.”
Trump, who had made a brief appearance in court and stormed out at one point, was not present when the verdict was announced. The decision elicited an audible gasp in the federal court.
Carroll, responding to the verdict, stated, “This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she’s been knocked down, and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down.”
This is the second time Trump has been found liable for sexual assault in a civil case. In 2023, a jury in another case found him liable for assaulting Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his reality show “The Apprentice.”
Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, remarked that Trump’s behaviour during the trial likely alienated the jury and expressed doubt about Trump’s chances of success on appeal, according to AFP.
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, expressed disappointment with the trial’s outcome and confirmed plans to appeal immediately. Trump had taken the stand briefly to deny instructing anyone to harm Carroll with his statements.
Throughout the trial, Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social, to attack Carroll, the trial, and the presiding judge. Judge Lewis Kaplan limited Trump’s courtroom responses to prevent public disparagement of Carroll or the court.
Trump’s involvement in the trial has been a part of his broader media strategy, as he faces multiple criminal cases, including attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and a civil business fraud case.
During the trial, jurors were shown Trump’s October 2022 deposition, where he mistakenly identified a photograph of Carroll as his former wife Marla Maples. This error cast doubt on his claim that Carroll was not his “type.”
Last year, another federal jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996 and defaming her in 2022.
Trump, amidst his campaign ahead of the New Hampshire primary, won over challenger Nikki Haley and is closing in on becoming the Republican candidate for the November election against Joe Biden.
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