Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll, must pay her $5 million, jury says

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump is set to pay $5 million for sexually abusing magazine writer E. Gene Carroll in the 1990s and then branding her a liar and defaming her. A jury ruled Tuesday that reparations must be paid.

“Today the world finally learned the truth,” Carroll said in a statement.

The former U.S. president, who is campaigning to take back the White House in 2024, will appeal, attorney Joseph Tacopina told reporters outside federal court in Manhattan.

79-year-old Carroll said in a civil lawsuit that Trump, 76, raped her in a dressing room at Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996, and in October 2022 told his Truth Social platform that she claimed ” It was a complete fraud,” a “hoax,” and a “lie.”

Trump was absent during the trial, which began on April 25. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called the verdict “disgraceful” and said he “has no idea who this woman is.”

Since it was a civil lawsuit, Trump would never face criminal charges, and as such, was never threatened with prison.

The jury deliberated for just under three hours, which was necessary to reach a unanimous verdict. Those six men and three women awarded Carroll $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages, but Trump won’t have to pay as long as the lawsuit is appealed.

In April, Mr. Trump provided election officials with only a rough estimate of the assets needed for financial disclosures, listing at least a dozen assets “$50 million or more” each.

“The core Trump voters will not change.”

Trump, who was president from 2017 to 2021, was the frontrunner in polls for the Republican presidential nomination and has shown an uncanny ability to navigate controversies that could drown other politicians.

A civil ruling seems unlikely to affect Trump’s core supporters in America’s polarized political climate.

“Anti-Trump people will stay the same, core Trump voters will not change, and I don’t think ambivalent people will be moved by this sort of thing,” he said.Pennsylvania Republican strategy Home, Charlie Jerow.

The negative impact will likely be small and limited to suburban women and moderate Republicans, Gerow said.

Trump has cited Carroll’s trial in campaign-funding emails as evidence of what he portrays as a Democratic conspiracy. He said Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist and registered Democrat, made up claims to boost sales of her 2019 memoir and to hurt him politically.

His poll numbers have improved after he was indicted last month for falsifying business records over hush money payments to porn stars before winning the 2016 presidential election.

Trump, the first past or current U.S. president to face criminal charges, has pleaded not guilty and said the charges were politically motivated.

Democratic strategist Rhys Smith said it remains to be seen whether the Carroll case ruling will make Trump “unacceptable” to Republican voters outside his base, and he has been pushing around another candidate. urged them to unite.

The trial featured the testimony of former People magazine reporter Natasha Stoinoff, who said Trump cornered her at Florida’s Mar-a-Lago club in 2005 and forced her to “for a few minutes.” Another woman, Jessica Leeds, testified that Trump kissed her on a plane in 1979, touched her, and put his hand up her skirt.

Jurors also heard excerpts from a 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump said a woman allowed him to “grab the pussy.”

“Historically, that’s true,” Trump said in a courtroom deposition video in October 2022. As for the stars…if you look back a million years. He has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual misconduct.

Trump mistook Carole for his ex-wife

Carroll testified that she had run into Trump in Bergdorf and had agreed to help him choose a gift for another woman. Carol said she could not recall the exact date or year of the alleged rape.

A juror was tasked with determining whether Trump raped, molested, or forcibly touched Carroll, and was asked separately whether Trump defamed Carroll. A jury found that Trump had molested her, but did not admit that he had raped her.

Before the jury began its deliberations, Judge Louis Kaplan defined rape as non-consensual “sexual intercourse” by “coercion.” He described sexual abuse as non-consensual “sexual contact” by coercion.

The jury awarded Carroll $2 million compensatory damages and $20,000 punitive damages for the battery claim and $2.7 million compensatory damages and $280,000 punitive damages for the libel allegation. awarded damages.

Trump’s legal team attacked the validity of Carroll’s explanation, including why she did not report the incident to police or shout during the incident.

Two of Carroll’s friends said she spoke about the alleged rape at the time, but swore to keep it a secret because they feared Trump would use his fame and fortune to retaliate if she came forward. rice field.

Carroll told jurors to break their silence in 2017 after rape allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein led many women to testify of sexual assault by men in power. She made her account public when Trump was president.

She said Trump’s public denials ruined her career and fueled a vicious online harassment campaign by his supporters.

Although Trump did not testify at the trial, a video clip from the October 2022 deposition showed that black-and-white photos of several people at the event mistook Carroll for one of his ex-wives. was showing

Trump said in a deposition that he could not rape Carroll because he was “not my type”, referring to his second wife, Marla Maples. rice field.

Reported by Jack Queen. Edited by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller

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