Jurors in the defamation case against Donald Trump took less than three hours to decide that Trump should pay $83.3 million to author E. Jean Carroll for defamation after she claimed Trump raped her in a department store in the 1990s in downtown New York. A jury in a related trial last year found Trump liable for rape and concluded he owed Carroll $5 million for defaming her publicly in the fall of 2022. This second lawsuit relates to comments Trump made in 2019 when Carroll first went public with his story. At the time, Trump denied that he had ever met her and said, among other things, that she was not his “type.” Carroll testified in both trials that Trump’s attacks unleashed an avalanche of online hate, left her in fear for her life, and left her career and personal reputation in tatters.
In court Friday, Carroll’s attorneys asked jurors to award her $24 million in damages in the case.
“One of the questions you have to decide is whether he acted with malice,” Shawn Crowley, Carroll’s attorney, told jurors in closing statements. “What could be more on brand for Donald Trump than spite?”
“This is not a campaign rally – it’s not a press event. This is a trial. And it’s Mrs. Carroll’s life,” Crowley added. “Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. He was slandering her. He still denigrates her. He is not a victim. This is her life. Help her take it back. Stop it. Make him pay enough to stop.”
The jury was sent out to deliberate around 1:45 p.m. on Friday and until 4:30 p.m. reached a verdict. Jurors in this case were not asked to determine whether Trump raped Carroll. Federal Court Judge Lewis Kaplan repeatedly explained to them that the legal issue had already been decided. Their task was to focus on the alleged defamation. The jury awarded Carroll $7.3 million to compensate her for her loss of reputation, $11 million to help repair her reputation and $65 million in punitive damages.
Last week, when Donald Trump started complaining loudly in the courtroom where he was on trial, Kaplan warned the former president to behave himself or face consequences.
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Jurors in the defamation case against Donald Trump took less than three hours to decide that Trump should pay $83.3 million to author E. Jean Carroll for defamation after she claimed Trump raped her in a department store in the 1990s in downtown New York. A jury in a related trial last year found Trump liable for rape and concluded he owed Carroll $5 million for defaming her publicly in the fall of 2022. This second lawsuit relates to comments Trump made in 2019 when Carroll first went public with his story. At the time, Trump denied that he had ever met her and said, among other things, that she was not his “type.” Carroll testified in both trials that Trump’s attacks unleashed an avalanche of online hate, left her in fear for her life, and left her career and personal reputation in tatters.
In court Friday, Carroll’s attorneys asked jurors to award her $24 million in damages in the case.
“One of the questions you have to decide is whether he acted with malice,” Shawn Crowley, Carroll’s attorney, told jurors in closing statements. “What could be more on brand for Donald Trump than spite?”
“This is not a campaign rally – it’s not a press event. This is a trial. And it’s Mrs. Carroll’s life,” Crowley added. “Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. He was slandering her. He still denigrates her. He is not a victim. This is her life. Help her take it back. Stop it. Make him pay enough to stop.”
The jury was sent out to deliberate around 1:45 p.m. on Friday and until 4:30 p.m. reached a verdict. Jurors in this case were not asked to determine whether Trump raped Carroll. Federal Court Judge Lewis Kaplan repeatedly explained to them that the legal issue had already been decided. Their task was to focus on the alleged defamation. The jury awarded Carroll $7.3 million in compensatory damages to her reputation, $11 million to repair her reputation, and $65 million in compensatory damages.
Last week, when Donald Trump started complaining loudly in the courtroom where he was on trial, Kaplan warned the former president to behave himself or face consequences.
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“You can’t control yourself,” Kaplan told Trump.
“You can’t either,” Trump shot back.
By the end of the trial, Kaplan mostly controlled Trump, limiting his testimony to just three minutes and cutting Trump off whenever he strayed from the topic. On Friday, Trump attempted a final act of defiance: standing up and walking out of the courtroom while Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney (who is not related to the judge), delivered a closing statement to jurors. Although such an act is not strictly prohibited, it violates the accepted decorum of federal court proceedings. Judge Kaplan ordered that Trump’s departure be recorded.
Trump stormed off after Kaplan told the jury that Trump had spent the entire trial “continuing to slander.”
Image Source: PBS
