A jury awarded $83.3 million in huge additional damages on Friday to longtime advice columnist E. Jean Carroll from former President Donald Trump, who she says shattered her reputation and opened her to threats by calling her a liar who only accused him of sexual assault to sell a memoir.
The award, when coupled with a $5 million sexual assault and defamation verdict last year from another jury in a case brought by Carroll, raised to $88.3 million what Trump must pay her. Protesting vigorously, he said he would appeal.
Carroll clutched her lawyersB次元官网网址� hands and smiled as the seven-man, two-woman jury delivered its verdict. Emotional afterward, she shared a three-way hug with her attorneys. She declined comment as she left the Manhattan federal courthouse.
Trump had left the courthouse about a half hour before the verdict was read. He had remained for more than two hours while the jury deliberated.
B次元官网网址淎bsolutely ridiculous!B次元官网网址� he said in a statement shortly afterward. B次元官网网址淥ur Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon.B次元官网网址�
Jurors deliberated less than three hours after the two-week trial.
It was the second time in nine months that a civil jury returned a verdict related to CarrollB次元官网网址檚 claim that a flirtatious, chance encounter with Trump in 1996 at Bergdorf GoodmanB次元官网网址檚 Fifth Avenue store ended violently. She said Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and forced himself on her.
In May, a different jury awarded Carroll $5 million. It found Trump not liable for rape, but responsible for sexually abusing Carroll and then defaming her by claiming she made it up. He is appealing that award, too.
Trump is also awaiting a verdict in a New York civil fraud trial, where state lawyers are seeking the return of $370 million in what they say were ill-gotten gains from loans and deals made using financial statements that exaggerated his wealth.
As for TrumpB次元官网网址檚 ability to pay, he reported having about $294 million in cash or cash equivalents on his most recent annual financial statement, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. Testifying at his civil fraud trial last November, he Trump boasted: B次元官网网址淚 have very little debt, and I have a lot of cash.B次元官网网址�
Trump skipped the first Carroll trial. He later expressed regret for not attending and insisted on testifying in the second trial, though the judge limited what he could say, ruling he had missed his chance to argue that he was innocent. He spent only a few minutes on the witness stand Thursday, during which he denied attacking Carroll, then left court grumbling B次元官网网址渢his is not America.B次元官网网址�
This new jury was only asked how much Trump, 77, should pay Carroll, 80, for two statements he made as president when he answered reportersB次元官网网址� questions after excerpts of CarrollB次元官网网址檚 memoir were published in a magazine B次元官网网址� damages that couldnB次元官网网址檛 be decided earlier because of legal appeals. Jurors were not asked to re-decide the issue of whether the sex attack actually happened.
CarrollB次元官网网址檚 attorneys had requested $24 million in compensatory damages and B次元官网网址渁n unusually high punitive award.B次元官网网址� The jury awarded $18.3 million in compensatory damages and another $65 million in punitive damages B次元官网网址� meant to deter future behavior.
CarrollB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, urged jurors in her closing argument Friday to punish Trump enough that he would stop a steady stream of public statements smearing Carroll as a liar and a B次元官网网址渨hack job.B次元官网网址�
Trump shook his head vigorously as Kaplan spoke, then suddenly stood and walked out, taking Secret Service agents with him. His exit came only minutes after the judge, without the jury present, threatened to send Trump attorney Alina Habba to jail for continuing to talk when he told her she was finished.
B次元官网网址淵ou are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Now sit down,B次元官网网址� the judge told Habba, who immediately complied.
The trial reached its conclusion as Trump marches toward winning the Republican presidential nomination a third consecutive time. He has sought to turn his various trials and legal vulnerabilities into an advantage, portraying them as evidence of a weaponized political system.
Though thereB次元官网网址檚 no evidence that President Joe Biden or anyone in the White House has influenced any of the legal cases against him, TrumpB次元官网网址檚 line of argument has resonated with his most loyal supporters who view the proceedings with skepticism.
Carroll testified early in the trial that TrumpB次元官网网址檚 public statements had led to death threats.
B次元官网网址淗e shattered my reputation,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 am here to get my reputation back and to stop him from telling lies about me.B次元官网网址�
She said sheB次元官网网址檇 had an electronic fence installed around the cabin in upstate New York where she lives, warned neighbors of the threats and bought bullets for a gun she keeps by her bed.
B次元官网网址淧reviously, I was known as simply as a journalist and had a column, and now IB次元官网网址檓 known as the liar, the fraud, and the whack job,B次元官网网址� Carroll testified.
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Habba, told jurors that Carroll had been enriched by her accusations against Trump and achieved fame she had craved. She said no damages were warranted.
To support CarrollB次元官网网址檚 request for millions in damages, Northwestern University sociologist Ashlee Humphreys told the jury that TrumpB次元官网网址檚 2019 statements had caused between $7.2 million and $12.1 million in harm to CarrollB次元官网网址檚 reputation.
When Trump finally testified, Kaplan gave him little room to maneuver, because Trump could not be permitted to try to revive issues settled in the first trial.
B次元官网网址淚t is a very well-established legal principle in this country that prevents do-overs by disappointed litigants,B次元官网网址� Kaplan said.
B次元官网网址淗e lost it and he is bound. And the jury will be instructed that, regardless of what he says in court here today, he did it, as far as theyB次元官网网址檙e concerned. That is the law,B次元官网网址� Kaplan said shortly before Trump testified.
After he swore to tell the truth, Trump was asked if he stood by a deposition in which he called Carroll a B次元官网网址渓iarB次元官网网址� and a B次元官网网址渨hack job.B次元官网网址� He answered: B次元官网网址�100 percent. Yes.B次元官网网址�
Asked if he denied the allegation because Carroll made an accusation, he responded: B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 exactly right. She said something, I consider it a false accusation.B次元官网网址� Asked if he ever instructed anyone to hurt Carroll, he said: B次元官网网址淣o. I just wanted to defend myself, my family, and frankly, the presidency.B次元官网网址�
The judge ordered the jury to disregard the B次元官网网址渇alse accusationB次元官网网址� comment and everything Trump said after B次元官网网址淣oB次元官网网址� to the last question.
Earlier in the trial, Trump tested the judgeB次元官网网址檚 tolerance. When he complained to his lawyers about a B次元官网网址渨itch huntB次元官网网址� and a B次元官网网址渃on jobB次元官网网址� within earshot of jurors, from the courtroom if it happened again. B次元官网网址淚 would love it,B次元官网网址� Trump said. Later that day, Trump told a news conference Kaplan was a B次元官网网址渘asty judge.B次元官网网址�
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