Former President Trump said Friday he plans to appeal a jury's decision to pay him $83.3 million for defaming author E. Jean Carroll, accusing him of sexually assaulting her decades ago. Stated.
“Absolutely ridiculous! I completely disagree with both rulings and plan to appeal the entire Biden-led witch hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Our legal system is out of control and is being used as a political weapon.”
“They took away all of their First Amendment rights,” he added. “This isn't America!”
Friday's verdict by a New York jury is the second time Carroll has won damages from Trump at trial, in a ruling last year that found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in separate comments. A new total amount of $5 million was added to the new total amount.
Trump testified briefly during the case this week. He left court before Friday's verdict was read.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, an appointee of former President Clinton who oversaw the case, had already ruled that Trump defamed Carroll. The jury only considered the issue of damages.
The former president claimed, and still maintains, that Carroll was lying and made it up to sell books. He said in a 2019 interview with The Hill that Carroll was “not my type.”
At a CNN town hall event last May, President Trump called Carroll a “terrible job” and claimed he didn't know her.
The Carroll case is one of several cases the former president, likely the Republican nominee, is working on in parallel as he campaigns for president. He also faces 91 federal charges in Washington, D.C. and Florida, and state charges in New York and Georgia.
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