A federal jury on Friday ordered Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, who accused the former US president of destroying her reputation as a trusted journalist by denying that he raped her nearly three decades ago.
The jury's verdict was read without Trump being present in the room, while Carroll was present and hugged his lawyers, but did not want to make statements to the press.
After two weeks of trial, the nine-member jury found the president guilty of the damage inflicted on Carroll in defamatory comments made in July 2019 and sentenced him to pay 18.3 million in damages and 65 million more for punitive damages, much higher figures than those that had been considered during the trial.
Carroll, 80, sued Trump in November 2019 for denying five months earlier that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan.
Trump, 77, claimed he had never heard of Carroll and that she made up her story to boost sales of her memoirs. Her attorneys said Carroll was fame-hungry and enjoyed the attention of her fans for speaking out against her nemesis.
Last May, another jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million for a similar denial in October 2022, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused Carroll. Trump is appealing that decision.
In the current trial, Carroll had asked for at least $10 million more, saying Trump had "destroyed" her reputation as a respected journalist who told the truth. She also sought punitive damages, in part to prevent Trump from repeating his denials.
After hearing the verdict, the former US president described it as "totally ridiculous" and announced that he would appeal it. "THIS IS NOT AMERICA (United States)!" He wrote on his Truth Social network.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw both trials, said the earlier verdict was binding on the second trial, meaning the only question for jurors was how much Trump should pay.
Trump, a Republican, has used Carroll's case and his other legal difficulties to bolster his campaign to retake the White House in the November elections in a likely showdown against Democrat Joe Biden, who defeated him in 2020.
Trump faces 91 felony charges in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss. He has pleaded not guilty in all cases and has portrayed himself as a victim of politically motivated lies and a judicial system out of control.
During Carroll's trial, Trump was heard muttering in court that the case was a "scam" and a "witch hunt" and that he still didn't know who Carroll was, prompting the judge to twice admonish him to stand still. reserved.
Trump left the courtroom during Friday's closing argument before Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, but returned for his own attorney's argument.
Attorney Kaplan, who is not related to the US district judge, had argued that Trump acted as if he were not bound by the law. "This trial is about getting him to stop doing it, once and for all," he added. "Now is the time to make him pay a high price."
Trump lawyer Alina Habba responded that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll's memoirs in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump's denials that began five hours later.
He also argued that Carroll was enjoying his newfound fame and was "happier than ever," citing his testimony that he had entered a "cocoon of love" from his followers.
A damage expert at Northwestern University who testified on Carroll's behalf estimated that the reputational damage caused by Trump's statements was between $7.3 million and $12.1 million.
On Thursday, Trump spent just four minutes defending himself on the witness stand after Judge Kaplan barred him and his lawyers from revisiting issues that had been resolved in the first trial.
Trump was allowed to confirm his October 2022 deposition testimony, which had been shown to the jury, in which he called Carroll's claims a "hoax" and said she was "mentally ill."
Carroll wrote the Ask E. Jean column for Elle from 1993 to 2019 and frequently appeared on shows such as NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. She said those appearances were sold out because of Trump.
