A jury last year found that Carroll was sexually abused by Trump at a Manhattan department store in 1996 and that he defamed her in later statements. A jury last year found that Carroll was sexually abused by Trump at a Manhattan department store in 1996 and that he defamed her in later statements.
A federal appeals court in New York has upheld the $5 million verdict against President-elect Donald Trump in the sexual abuse and defamation case involving former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Three judges of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan concludedMonday that Trump failed to demonstrate that the lower district court erred in several of its evidentiary rulings as he claimed in his appeal.
“Further, he has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial,” the court stated.
Trump’s defense team had argued that the testimony of two of his past sexual assault accusers should not have been admitted as part of the case. They also objected to the court hearing a 2005 recording of Trump talking about kissing and grabbing women without first obtaining their consent.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung in a statement said they will appeal the judges’ ruling. He also called for “an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax, which will continue to be appealed.”
Carroll’s attorney said they’re grateful for the court’s decision.
“Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments,” attorney Roberta Kaplan said in an emailed statement.
The Countdown To Trump Is On
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
A jury early last year found that Trump sexually abused Carroll, but not raped her, at a Manhattan department store in 1996. He was also found liable for defaming her in statements made in 2022. She was awarded $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Trump denied attacking Carroll, insisting he didn’t know her and that she made up the incident to promote her memoir.
Last January, a different jury in a separate case ordered Trump to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million for continuing to defame her and damage her reputation over social media. Trump is continuing to appeal that much larger verdict.