It was the second civil action filed by 80-year-old American writer E. Jean Carroll against Trump. The sum is many times more than the more than ten million dollars demanded by Carroll. Trump announced on his Truth Social online network that he wanted to appeal the verdict.
Carroll accuses Trump of raping her in a dressing room at the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York in 1996. The longtime Elle magazine columnist first went public with her accusation in 2019, when Trump was president. The Republican then accused Carroll of lying and said she wasn't his “type.”
Sued again for defamatory comments
At the end of the first trial in May, a New York jury found it proven that Trump attacked Carroll in a luxury New York department store, sexually assaulted him and later slandered him. The jury then awarded the writer five million dollars in compensation (around 4.7 million euros).
Because she also found Trump's subsequent comments to be defamatory, Carroll sued again. Even before the second trial began, Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed with her and ruled that other of Trump's comments were defamatory. The jury now only had to decide on the amount of compensation that the former president should pay to the woman. Carroll demanded more than ten million dollars.
Portal/Brendan Mcdermid E. Jean Carroll (center) with her lawyers Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan
Judge threatened Trump with expulsion
Trump appeared in person several times at the second trial – unlike the first, from which he was completely absent – and attracted attention through numerous commentary comments, which is why the judge threatened him with exclusion.
On Thursday, Trump chose unusually mild words in court, likely in part because the judge instructed him to answer only yes or no due to previous outbursts. Trump said he never wanted to hurt Carroll.
“I just wanted to defend myself, my family and, frankly, the presidency,” Trump said, according to consistent media reports, when he was questioned by lawyers on both sides for about five minutes. The former president also emphasized that he rejected Carroll's accusations. Trump's lawyers also asked again to dismiss the case, which Judge Kaplan rejected.
“He destroyed my reputation”
Carroll also spoke on Thursday. Trump sexually abused her, lied “and destroyed my reputation,” the columnist and author said. “I used to be known simply as a journalist and now I'm known as a liar, a cheat and a crazy person,” she said, citing insults Trump has leveled at her.
debate
How much does Trump hold the Republicans in his hands?
The trial was postponed until Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday due to several cases of illness. On Wednesday night, Trump launched a series of 37 verbal attacks against Carroll on Truth Social, defaming her and questioning the credibility of her evidence.
Election campaign in court
Despite several lawsuits, the 77-year-old is considered the Republican Party's most promising candidate ahead of November's presidential elections. However, he currently has to respond to several other cases in court. Trump often uses court dates as a kind of campaign appearance.