Donald Trump ordered to pay US$83m in damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll

A New York City jury has awarded a whopping $83.3m to E Jean Carroll in her defamation trial against Donald Trump, as the former president slams the decision.

A Manhattan jury has determined that former president Donald Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll a whopping $83 million (A$126m) for defaming her and denying her rape allegations.

The jury began deliberations earlier after closing arguments to determine whether damages should be paid, and how much.Trump — whom a jury found liable for sexual assault of Carroll in a separate federal civil case in New York — took the stand briefly Thursday to deny he instructed anyone to harm Carroll with his statements.

Carroll, 80, alleges that Trump defamed her in 2019, when she first made her assault allegations public, by saying she “is not my type.”

Writer E. Jean Carroll leaves federal court after the verdict in her defamation case against former US president Donald Trump in New York. Picture: AFP

When asked about how the comment damaged her reputation, Carroll said “Previously I was known simply as a journalist, and now I’m known as a liar, a fraud, and a whack job” — quoting other insults levelled at her by the de facto leader of the Republican Party.

Carroll, a former longtime Elle magazine advice columnist, was initially seeking $10 million (A$15m) in damages.

But during closing arguments on Friday, her attorney upped that to $24 million (A$36.5m), saying the real estate magnate should pay his alleged abuse victim at least that much for defaming Carroll because “the only thing he cares about is money.”

Trump says he will appeal the “ridiculous” decision.

“Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” Trump posted.

“Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower for Manhattan federal court. Picture: AFP

It comes as the federal court was thrown into chaos earlier after Trump stormed out and a judge threatened to “lock up” his lawyer in a wild final day of a defamation trial.

The former US president abruptly walked out of the New York courtroom during closing arguments in the defamation damages trial after the lawyer for accuser, E Jean Carroll, said Trump “thinks rules don’t apply to him”.

It came after US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump’s defence lawyer Alina Habba to “sit down” after she tried to introduce tweets that were not part of submitted evidence.

“You are not going to use a slide to represent how many tweets there were, you are not using that slide, period,” Judge Kaplan railed.

“You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup, now sit down!” he sensationally threatened.

A Manhattan jury has determined that former president Donald Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll a whopping $83 million for defaming her.

Habba sought to have the case thrown out on the grounds that threatening messages targeting Carroll, which feature in the case, began on social media before Trump’s 2019 comments. Her request was denied.

After the wild exchange, Judge Kaplan ordered there to be “no interruptions or audible comments” during closing arguments, in reference to Trump’s comments being heard by jurors throughout the trial.

As closing arguments began, Trump got up and stormed out as jurors were urged to award massive damages “large enough” to make him stop defaming Carroll, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.

“The record will reflect that Mr Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom,” Judge Kaplan said.

Trump was ordered last year to pay USD $5 million for defamation of Carroll, and she is seeking another $10 million or more for a separate accusation of defamation.

During Trump’s testimony Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan limited him to three questions from his lawyers, to which he could only answer yes or no.

E. Jean Carroll arrives at Manhattan federal court in New York. Picture: AFP

“She says something I considered false,” Trump began to say before Kaplan cut him off.

“This is not America,” Trump said as he left the courtroom following the short, three-minute appearance.

Trump separately faces multiple criminal cases, including his alleged attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election, and a civil business fraud case.

While Trump was not required to appear in court during the civil lawsuit, the 2024 presidential candidate chose to split his time between the hearing and campaigning for the Republican primary nomination.

Originally published as Donald Trump ordered to pay US$83m in damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll