Former President Donald Trump was held responsible by a New York jury on Tuesday for sexually assaulting author E. Jean Carroll in a Manhattan department shop in the 1990s, but not for her alleged rape.
For her battery and defamation charges, the jury awarded her $5 million in damages.
Asked on their verdict sheet if Carroll, 79, had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump raped Ms Carroll,” the nine-person jury checked the box that said “no.” Asked if Carroll had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll,” the jury checked the box that said “yes.” Both allegations were elements of Carroll’s battery claim.
Additionally, the six men and three women concluded that Trump had slandered Carroll by labeling her assertions a “hoax” and a “con job.” Only roughly three hours of jury deliberation preceded the verdict. Carroll received a little more than $2 million for the battery claim and a little less than $3 million for the slander claim.
“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back. Today, the world finally knows the truth,” Carroll said in a statement Tuesday. She did not speak to reporters outside the courthouse.
In a separate statement, her lawyer Roberta Kaplan said, “No one is above the law, not even a former President of the United States. We are so thrilled that the jury agreed.”
Trump, a candidate for president in 2024, has continually refuted Carroll’s assertions. Shortly after the verdict was announced, he denounced it on his social media platform.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE — A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” he wrote on Truth Social.
A Trump campaign spokesman said in a statement, “Make no mistake, this entire bogus case is a political endeavor targeting President Trump because he is now an overwhelming front-runner to be once again elected President of the United States.”
“This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win,” the statement said.
The verdict marks the first time a former president has been found civilly liable for sexual misconduct.
Carroll filed her suit in Manhattan federal court last year, alleging Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store near his Fifth Avenue home in 1995 or 1996. She first went public with the claim in 2019 in her book, “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal.”
