Jury: Trump liable for sexual abuse
$5M awarded in civil case; he calls the verdict ‘a disgrace’
A federal jury found former President Donald Trump liable Tuesday in a civil case for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll in 1996 and said he should pay her $5 million in total damages, a verdict that could further complicate the former president’s election bid in 2024.
The jury, which deliberated less than three hours, also found Trump liable for defamation.
Jurors opted not to find Trump liable for rape but rather sexual abuse.
Carroll, a professional writer, accused Trump of lying about a 1996 sexual assault in a New York City department store and disparaging her character in doing so.
Trump, who has denied Carroll’s claims, said on his Truth Social website early in the day that the trial involved a “False Accusation” and he would “not speak until after the trial.”
After the verdict was announced, Trump immediately lashed out with a statement on his social media site, claiming again that he does not know Carroll and referring to the verdict as “a disgrace” and “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.” He promised to appeal.
The case is a civil one, not a criminal one. The jury was not asked to find Trump guilty or not guilty but whether he was liable for an attack on Carroll. They had several alternative verdicts to consider.
In written instructions, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan asked jurors to decide whether the “preponderance of the evidence” shows that Trump “raped,” “sexually abused,” or “forcibly touched” Carroll. It chose that middle option.
The jury was also asked to determine if Trump’s conduct was “willfully or wantonly
negligent, reckless, or done with a conscious disregard of the rights of Ms. Carroll.” It said yes.
The instruction sheet also asked if Trump’s criticisms of Carroll in social media posts were “defamatory,” “false,” or made “with actual malice.”
The jurors began their deliberations a day after attorneys for Carroll and Trump made their final arguments.
Carroll’s attorneys argued that Trump has a history of pouncing on women and stressed that he refused to appear at the two-week trial to defend himself. Trump’s attorneys, meanwhile, argued that Carroll made up her story for financial gain and to attack the former president politically.
Carroll said she stayed silent about the incident for years because she feared retribution from Trump and his powerful allies; she eventually decided to write about Trump in a 2019 memoir. To buttress her testimony, two friends of Carroll testified that she told them about Trump’s attack shortly after it happened.
In closing arguments, Carroll’s attorneys stressed Trump’s questionable behavior toward women in general. They cited the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that surfaced during the 2016 election in which Trump said that his status as a celebrity enabled him to grab women by their genitals.
In a video deposition for the Carroll trial, Trump essentially stood by his “Access Hollywood” comments. “Historically, that’s true with stars,” Trump said, later adding: “Unfortunately or fortunately.”
After the verdict was read, Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told reporters the jury’s decision to rule in Trump’s favor on the rape claim, but still find him responsible for sexual assault, was “perplexing.” “Part of me was obviously very happy that Donald Trump was not branded a rapist,” he said.