In a civil trial, Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming a journalist. The trial ordered Trump to pay her $5 million in damage repair.
A New York jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing and defaming a former American magazine columnist and ordered the ex-president to pay her $5 million in damages.
The nine jurors rejected E. Jean Carroll’s accusation of rape, but unanimously upheld her other complaints in the closely watched civil trial, following less than three hours of deliberations.
This trial marks the first time Trump has faced legal consequences over several sexual assault allegations dating back decades. The former leader immediately rejected the verdict as a “disgrace.”
Carroll, a 79-year-old, sued Trump last year, alleging that he raped her in the changing room of the luxury Bergdorf Goodman store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in 1996.
The former columnist for Elle magazine also claimed that Trump defamed her when he called her “a complete con job” after she went public with the allegation in 2019.
Trump, a 76-year-old, called her case a “hoax” and “a lie.”
The jury determined that Carroll had proved sexual abuse, effectively sexual contact without consent, by a preponderance of the evidence and awarded her $2 million.
The jury’s six men and three women said Trump should pay Carroll nearly $3 million for defamation.
Following the verdict, Carroll left the Manhattan federal court smiling but did not speak to reporters.
Trump’s 2024 campaign team said that the case was a “political endeavor” intended to derail Trump’s bid to regain the White House, adding that the former president would appeal.
Carroll revealed during the two-week-long civil trial that the assault had left her feeling “ashamed” and unable to have romantic relationships.
Around a dozen women accused Trump of sexual misconduct ahead of the 2016 election that sent him to the White House.
Trump is also being investigated over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia, his alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House, and his involvement in the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6th, 2021.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
