NEW YORK (AP) — A jury adds former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, saying former President Donald Trump damaged her reputation by calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. The court awarded damages of $83.3 million.
The verdict was handed down Friday by a jury of seven men and two women in a trial that Trump regularly attends, but the president abruptly left the courtroom during closing arguments by Carroll's lawyers and later Came back.
Carol smiled as the verdict was read. By then, Trump had left the building in a motorcade.
This is the second time in nine months that a jury has returned a verdict related to Carroll's claims that a casual, casual encounter with Trump at a Bergdorf Goodman store in 1996 ended violently. became. She said Trump slammed her against the wall of her locker room, pulled down her tights and forced himself against her.
In May, another jury awarded Carroll $5 million. The ruling found that Trump was not responsible for the rape, but was responsible for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her by claiming it was a fabrication. He is appealing for the award.
Mr. Trump was absent from his first court hearing. He later expressed regret for not attending and insisted on testifying at the second trial, but the judge limited what he could say and ruled that he had missed an opportunity to assert his innocence. On Thursday, he was on the witness stand for just a few minutes, during which he denied attacking Carroll and left the courtroom complaining that “this is not America.”
In this courtroom sketch, E. Jean Carroll, right, turns to former President Donald Trump, who is seated to his left, on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)
The new jury will decide how much Trump, 77, will pay Carroll, 80, for two statements he made as president in response to questions from reporters after excerpts from Carroll's memoir were published in a magazine. The amount of damages could not previously be determined. For legal appeals. Jurors were not asked to reconsider the question of whether a sexual assault actually occurred.
Carroll's lawyers were seeking $24 million in damages and “unusually large punitive damages.”
Her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told jurors in Friday's closing argument that she should be punished enough to stop a series of public slurs calling Carol a liar and a “bad job.” asked President Trump.
As Mr. Kaplan spoke, Mr. Trump shook his head violently, then suddenly stood up and walked away, accompanied by Secret Service agents. His exit comes just days after a judge threatened to send Trump lawyer Alina Haba to prison for continuing to speak without a jury present, even though she told him it was over. Done in minutes.
“You have to spend some more time in captivity. Now sit down,” the judge told Haba, to which Haba quickly complied.
The trial came to an end as Mr. Trump moves toward winning the Republican presidential nomination for a third consecutive term. He has sought to turn various trials and legal vulnerabilities to his advantage, painting them as evidence of a weaponized political system.
There is no evidence that President Joe Biden or anyone in the White House influenced the case against him, but President Trump's claims resonate with his most loyal supporters who view the legal process with skepticism. There is.
Carroll testified early in the trial that Trump's public comments led to death threats.
“He destroyed my reputation,” she said. “I'm here to restore my reputation and stop him from telling lies about me.”
She said she installed an electronic fence around the upstate New York cabin where she lives, warned neighbors about the threat and bought ammunition for a gun she keeps next to her bed.
“Before, I was known as just a journalist and had a column, but now I'm known as a liar, a fraud, and a jobber,” Carroll testified.
Mr. Trump's lawyer, Mr. Hubba, told jurors that Mr. Carroll was enriched by the accusations against Mr. Trump and gained the fame he craved. She said her damages are not guaranteed.
In support of Carroll's multimillion-dollar damages claim, Northwestern University sociologist Ashley Humphries told the jury that Trump's 2019 comments cost Carroll his reputation by up to $7.2 million. It said damages of $12.1 million were caused.
Former President Donald Trump speaks after leaving the courtroom for recess at the New York State Supreme Court on December 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Eduardo Muñoz Alvarez, File)
When Mr. Trump finally testified, Mr. Kaplan gave Mr. Trump little room for maneuver, saying he could not allow Mr. Trump to try to rehash an issue that had been decided in the first trial.
“We have very well-established legal principles in this country that prevent disappointed litigants from starting over,” Kaplan said.
“He's lost it and he's in custody. And the jury is going to be told that no matter what he says in court today, as far as they're concerned, he did it. That's the law,” Kaplan said. He spoke just before testifying.
Trump, who has vowed to tell the truth, was asked if he would stand by his deposition in which he called Carroll a “liar” and a “terrible job.” He answered: yes. “
When asked if he denied the charges because Carroll made the accusations, he answered: She said something, but I think it was a false accusation. ” When asked if he had ever instructed anyone to hurt Carol, he said: I just wanted to protect myself, my family, and frankly, the office of the president. ”
The judge ordered the jury to ignore the “wrongful accusation” comment and anything Trump said after he answered “no” to the final question.
At the beginning of the trial, Trump tested the judge's leniency. When he complained to his lawyer about a “witch hunt'' and “the work of con artists'' being carried out within earshot of the jury; Kaplan threatened to eject him. If the same thing happens again, it will be in court. President Trump said, “I would love to do that.'' Later that day, President Trump told a news conference that Kaplan was a “mean judge.”
