NEW YORK, USA – A federal jury in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, has handed a significant defeat to Donald J. Trump, finding the former President liable for defamation and battery against the writer E. Jean Carroll.
The jury awarded Carroll a total of $5 million in damages, including nearly $3 million for the defamation claim and about $2 million for her civil battery claim.
The case, heard in a Manhattan federal court, centred on allegations that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in 1996.
Carroll also contended that Trump defamed her in a 2022 statement in which he denied her accusations.
Following the verdict, Carroll exited the courthouse with a smile, hand-in-hand with her attorneys. She did not comment to the media.
“We’re very happy,” said Roberta Kaplan, one of Carroll’s attorneys.
The jury’s decision constitutes a significant victory for survivors of sexual offenses under the New York Adult Survivors Act, passed in May 2022.
The Act allows survivors to file civil lawsuits against perpetrators for damages, even if the statutory window of time to bring a claim has expired, so long as the offense qualifies as a sex crime under the law.
Responding to the verdict, Trump, through a post on Truth Social, called it a “total disgrace” and “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.” He continued to deny knowing Carroll.
His spokesman, Steven Cheung, mirrored Trump’s sentiments in a statement, labeling the case “bogus.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan, before dismissing the jury, informed them of their right to publicly identify themselves.
However, he advised against it, cautioning, “My advice to you is not to identify yourselves.
Not now and not for a long time,” Kaplan said. “If you’re one who elects to speak to others and to identify yourselves to others, I direct you not to identify anyone else who sat on this jury.”
Carroll was reportedly visibly reliefed at the verdict. After the jury was escorted out and the verdict fully read, Carroll embraced her lawyer, Scannell said.
Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina shook hands with Carroll and her attorneys.
Despite Trump’s derision of the verdict, this decision marks a notable development in the legal challenges facing the former President, reinforcing the concept that no individual stands above the law, regardless of their public stature.
