UPDATED 7:06 P.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump was handed a stinging defeat on Friday by a Manhattan jury that ordered him to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her.
Jurors needed less than three hours to reach a verdict in Manhattan federal court following a five-day trial. The sum that the former U.S. president was ordered to pay far exceeded the minimum $10 million Carroll had sought. Trump plans to appeal.
Carroll’s case has become an issue in Trump’s campaign to retake the White House in the November U.S. election. Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020.
Trump attended most of the trial, but was not in the courtroom for the verdict.
“Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon,” Trump posted on social media. “THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”
Carroll, 80, left the courthouse with her arms around two of her lawyers.
“This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she’s been knocked down, and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down,” Carroll said in a statement.
The former Elle magazine advice columnist sued Trump in November 2019 over his denials five months earlier that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Carroll testified that Trump’s denials “shattered” her reputation as a respected journalist who told the truth.
The jury of seven men and two women, whose members were kept anonymous, awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages, including $11 million for harm to her reputation. Carroll also was awarded $65 million in punitive damages, which she said was needed to stop Trump from continuing to defame her.
Trump, 77, maintained that he had never heard of Carroll, and that she made up her story to boost sales of her memoir.
His lawyers said Carroll was hungry for fame and enjoyed the attention from supporters for speaking out against her nemesis.
In May 2023, another jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused Carroll.
Trump is appealing that decision, and set aside $5.55 million with the Manhattan court during that process. Both appeals could take years.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw both trials, said the earlier verdict applied to the second trial, including that Trump had forced his fingers into Carroll’s vagina. All jurors needed to decide was how much Trump should pay.
‘IT WILL NOT DETER US’
Alina Habba, who led Trump’s defense in Carroll’s case, cast Friday’s verdict in political terms, and predicted Trump’s appeal will succeed.
“President Trump is leading in the polls, and now we see what you get in New York,” Habba told reporters. “It will not deter us, we will keep fighting, and I assure you we didn’t win today, but we will win.”
Trump on Friday stalked out of the courtroom during the closing argument of Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, but returned for Habba’s closing argument.
He has used his legal travails to portray himself as the victim of politically motivated lies and a biased, out-of-control judicial system.
Trump has separately pleaded not guilty to 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. He is also awaiting a decision, perhaps this month, from a New York judge on how much he should be penalized in state Attorney General Letitia James’ $370 million civil fraud lawsuit against him and his namesake Trump Organization.
During the Carroll trial, Trump was heard muttering that the case was a “con job” and “witch hunt” and that he still did not know who Carroll was, prompting the judge to twice admonish him to keep quiet.
CLOSING ARGUMENTS
Carroll’s lawyer Kaplan said during her closing argument that Trump acted toward her client as though he were not bound by the law, and that he should pay “dearly.”
Habba countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll’s memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump’s denials that began five hours later. Habba also argued that Carroll enjoyed her newfound fame, and that coming forward left her “happier than ever.”
Trump testified on Thursday, but spent only four minutes on the witness stand because the judge forbade him from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled. He stood behind his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had seen, in which he called Carroll’s claims a “hoax” and said she was “mentally sick.”
Carroll wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She said those appearances dried up because of Trump.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Will Dunham)
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump was ordered by a federal jury on Friday to pay $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, who accused the former U.S. president of destroying her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her nearly three decades ago.
Carroll, 80, sued Trump in November 2019 over his denials five months earlier that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Trump, 77, claimed that he had never heard of Carroll, and that she made up her story to boost sales of her memoir.
His lawyers said Carroll was hungry for fame and enjoyed the attention from supporters for speaking out against her nemesis.
Another jury last May ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused Carroll. Trump is appealing that decision.
In the current trial, Carroll had sought at least $10 million more, saying Trump had “shattered” her reputation as a respected journalist who told the truth.
She also sought punitive damages, in part to keep Trump from repeating his denials.
TRUMP‘S CAMPAIGN
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw both trials, said the earlier verdict was binding for the second trial, meaning the only issue for jurors was how much Trump should pay.
Trump, a Republican, has used Carroll’s case and his other legal travails to bolster his campaign to retake the White House in the November election in a likely showdown against Democrat Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020.
Trump faces 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. He has pleaded not guilty in all of the cases, and has portrayed himself as the victim of politically motivated lies and an out-of-control judicial system.
During the Carroll trial, Trump was heard muttering in court that the case was a “con job” and “witch hunt” and that he still did not know who Carroll was, prompting the judge to twice admonish him to keep quiet.
Trump stalked out of the courtroom during the closing argument on Friday by Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, but returned for his own lawyer’s argument.
Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, had argued that Trump acted as though he wasn’t bound by the law.
“This trial is about getting him to stop, once and for all,” she added. “Now is the time to make him pay for it dearly.”
‘COCOON OF LOVE’
Trump‘s lawyer Alina Habba countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll’s memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump‘s denials that began five hours later.
She also argued that Carroll enjoyed her newfound fame and was “happier than ever,” citing her testimony that she had entered a “cocoon of love” from her supporters.
A Northwestern University damages expert who testified on Carroll’s behalf estimated the reputational harm from Trump‘s statements was $7.3 million to $12.1 million.
On Thursday, Trump spent only four minutes defending himself on the witness stand after Judge Kaplan forbade him and his lawyers from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled.
Trump was allowed to confirm his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had been shown, in which he called Carroll’s claims a “hoax” and said she was “mentally sick.”
Carroll wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She said those appearances dried up because of Trump.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Jonathan Oatis)
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -A jury in federal court in Manhattan on Friday reached a verdict in writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Jurors heard closing arguments in the case earlier in the day, with Carroll’s lawyer telling them that Trump should pay “dearly” for defaming Carroll and denying he raped her, likely in the tens of millions of dollars.
But a lawyer for Trump countered that Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, does not deserve a cent, having enjoyed the attention and suffered neither professional nor emotional harm after Trump branded her a liar.
Carroll, 80, is seeking at least $10 million for Trump having defamed her in June 2019, when he was president, by denying her claim that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
She said Trump‘s comments caused her to be subjected to 4-1/2 years of continuous attacks, including death threats.
Trump, 77, accused Carroll of making up the encounter to boost sales of her memoir, and has maintained he had never heard of her. He has also attacked Carroll during the trial and on the campaign trial, proclaiming her case a “witch hunt” and a “con job.”
Another jury last May ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused her.
Trump shook his head in the courtroom after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told jurors it was an “established” fact that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll.
‘THIS IS HER LIFE’
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, urged jurors to punish Trump for persistently lying about her client, and destroying her reputation as a truth-telling journalist.
“We all have to follow the law,” Kaplan said. “Donald Trump, however, acts as if these rules and laws just don’t apply to him.
“This trial is about getting him to stop, once and for all,” she added. “Now is the time to make him pay for it dearly.”
Trump‘s lawyer, Alina Habba, countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll’s memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump‘s denials, which began five hours later.
“It just doesn’t add up,” Habba said. “Even if you believe Ms. Carroll, that she really and truly feared for her safety because of the emails she received, she has not shown what she needs to show, that President Trump was the reason she received them.”
Habba also said Carroll enjoyed her new fame, citing her comments that she felt “buoyant” and “fabulous” and entered a “cocoon of love” from supporters.
“She was happier than ever,” Habba said. “Don’t take my word for it. Just ask E. Jean.”
Trump, a Republican, is seeking to retake the White House in the November election in a likely showdown against Democrat Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020.
The race is expected to be close even though Trump faces 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump walked out of the courtroom during Roberta Kaplan’s closing argument, but returned for Habba’s.
He has tried to make his legal travails a campaign asset, calling himself a victim of biased prosecutors and an unfair judicial system.
Carroll’s legal team urged jurors to ignore that.
“This isn’t a campaign rally,” Shawn Crowley, another lawyer for Carroll, said after Habba spoke. “Donald Trump is not the victim. This is her life. Help her take it back.”
‘SWISS CHEESE’
Jurors in the current trial will decide only how much Trump owes Carroll for harming her reputation, and whether to impose punitive damages to stop him from defaming her again.
A damages expert testified that the reputational harm alone was $7.3 million to $12.1 million.
Attorney Roberta Kaplan said an “unusually high” punitive damages award might also be needed to deter Trump, a billionaire.
“While Donald Trump may not care about the law, while he certainly does not care about truth, he does care about money,” she said.
Habba urged jurors to ignore the damages expert, saying her report “has more holes than Swiss cheese.”
On Thursday, Trump spent only four minutes defending himself on the witness stand after Judge Kaplan forbade him and his lawyers from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled.
Trump was allowed to confirm his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had been shown, in which he called Carroll’s claims a “hoax” and said she was “mentally sick.”
Carroll wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She said those appearances dried up because of Trump.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Jonathan Oatis)
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