$5m damages: Donald Trump sexually abused columnist, jury finds

Donald Trump’s rape accuser has given a TV interview a day after her historic court victory against the former US president.

E. Jean Carroll arrives for her civil trial against former US President Donald Trump at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City on May 9. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

E. Jean Carroll has described her historic multimillion dollar court victory over former US President Donald Trump for sex abuse and defamation as “probably the happiest day of my life”, during an appearance on breakfast television.

“I feel fantastic!” the 79-year-old gushed on Good Morning America a day after a Manhattan jury found Mr Trump, 76, liable for sexually abusing and defaming the American former magazine columnist, and ordered him to pay her $US5m ($A7.3) in damages.

“Yesterday was probably the happiest day of my life,” she said of the monumental decision that could affect the 2024 election.

E. Jean Carroll told GMA she “was shaken” during her three days of testimony. Picture: GMA.

Ms Carroll maintained that she had no motivation for suing Mr Trump other than that she “decided to come forward and tell what happened” to her in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room in 1996.

“I thought that was enough,” she stated.

“Then, he said terrible things about me. Ground my face in the dirt. It was horrible.”

Carroll declared the jury’s decision was “the happiest day of my life”. Picture: AFP

Ms Carroll told the program she was “always shaken” during her three days of testimony, which capped a four-year ordeal during which she had regularly “blamed” herself for her own sex abuse.

“I was shaken quite a bit. But I felt strong because I knew I was telling the truth,” she said. “And I just stuck to it.”

The writer has been awarded $US5m in damages. Picture: AFP

The nine-member jury reached a unanimous verdict in just under three hours on Tuesday local time, finding that Mr Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse, defamation and damages.

Mr Trump should pay nearly $US3 million in damages to accuser E. Jean Carroll for successfully proving her defamation claim against him, the jury found in the closely watched civil trial that accused the ex-US President of raping and defaming her.

Carroll maintained that she had no motivation for suing Mr Trump other than that she “decided to come forward and tell what happened”. Picture: AFP

It also found that Mr Trump should pay about $US2 million in damages for her civil battery claim, bringing the total to $US5 million ($A7.3m).

Mr Trump chose not to attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.

In a statement, Ms Carroll said: “The world finally knows the truth”.

“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back,” she said.

“This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”

‘GET YOUR CAMERA OUT OF MY F***ING FACE’: TRUMP’S LAWYER REACTS

Mr Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said his client would appeal the verdict, although he said he had been vindicated by the jury deciding he was not liable for rape.

“This was a rape case all along and the jury rejected that, made other findings,” he said.

“We’ll obviously be appealing those other findings.”

Mr Trump’s lawyer clashed with an Australian TV reporter just moments after the verdict was read out.

“Get your camera out of my f***ing face,” Mr Tacopina told Tim Lester from Seven News while a security guard warned the reporter to keep his distance.

Mr Tacopina claimed Mr Trump – who is also facing criminal charges in New York over hush money paid to a porn star – could not “get a fair trial” in his former hometown.

Donald Trump's lawyer clashed with reporter Tim Lester, on far right.

In a statement, Mr Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign claimed the “entire bogus case” had targeted him “because he is now an overwhelming frontrunner” to return to the White House.

“The Democratic Party’s never-ending witch-hunt of President Trump hit a new low today. In jurisdictions wholly controlled by the Democratic Party our nation’s justice system is now compromised by extremist left-wing politics. We have allowed false and totally made-up claims from troubled individuals to interfere with our elections, doing great damage,” a campaign spokesman said.

Joe Tacopina, Donald Trump’s lawyer, speaks to reporters after the civil trial. Picture: AFP

“The continued abuse of our great Constitution for political ends is disgusting and cannot be tolerated. Our nation is in serious trouble when claims lacking any evidence or proof or eyewitnesses can invade our courts to score political points.”

“Sadly, for the enemies of American freedom and democracy, President Trump will never stop fighting for the American people, no matter what the radical Democrats dream up next. This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.”

Ms Carroll, 79, sued Mr Trump for battery last year, alleging that he raped her in the changing room of the luxury Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue in either late 1995 or early 1996.

Former US president Donald Trump plays golf at his Turnberry course in Scotland earlier this month. Picture: Getty Images

Ms Carroll alleged his conduct qualified as a sexual offence because it was rape, sexual abuse or forcible touching. While the jury did not find that she had proven rape, they did determine she proved Mr Trump had sexually abused her in the department store in the mid-1990s.

The former Elle magazine writer also claimed that Mr Trump defamed her when he called her “a complete con job” after she went public with the allegation in 2019.

Under New York Adult Survivors Act, passed in May 2022, survivors of sexual offences are able to file a civil lawsuit against a perpetrator for damages even if the statutory window of time to bring a claim has expired, as long as they can also show the offence qualifies as a sex crime under the law.

Carroll during a court appearance earlier this month. Picture: AFP

‘WITCH HUNT’: TRUMP BLASTS VERDICT

After the verdict was read, Ms Carroll exited the US District Court in Manhattan smiling and holding hands with her legal team.

Her lawyer Roberta Kaplan spoke briefly, saying: “We’re very happy.”

Neither Ms Carroll nor her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, provided any comments to the mass of reporters outside the courthouse as they left hand-in-hand, with the former “Ask E. Jean” columnist breezing through the crowd and into a waiting car.

“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social following the verdict. His spokesman Steven Cheung echoed Mr Trump in a statement calling the case “bogus.”

E. Jean Carroll during the civil trial against former US President Donald Trump. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor who is challenging Mr Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said the verdict “should be treated with seriousness and is another example of the indefensible behaviour of Donald Trump”.

But Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that Americans voted “based on what’s happening in their lives”.

“People want closure, they want to move on and they want to talk about what is happening in their lives,” she said.

The jury had to determine if Ms Carroll proved either of her claims, of battery and defamation, and were tasked with deciding whether to award her compensatory and punitive monetary damages.

The jury started discussing potential verdicts in the case at 11:50am local time after Judge Lewis Kaplan gave the panel final instructions and a 10-question verdict form.

There were six men and three women on the jury.

During closing arguments on Monday, lawyers for Ms Carroll urged the jury to find Mr Trump liable for the alleged sexual assault in a New York department store in the mid-1990s.

“No one, not even a former president, is above the law,” lawyer Roberta Kaplan told the Manhattan federal court.

Mr Trump has not been criminally prosecuted and has repeatedly denied the allegations, often referring to Carroll as “not my type.”

Former US President Donald Trump is also facing legal action on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Picture: Getty Images

“The truth is,” Carroll “was exactly his type,” Ms Kaplan said to the jurors who will begin deliberating on Tuesday.

Mr Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said in the defence’s closing arguments that there was no evidence an assault occurred and accused Ms Carroll of wanting to derail Mr Trump’s 2024 White House race.

He asked the jury to use their “common sense,” saying that if Mr Trump had raped Ms Carroll in a public place, then he would have been “immediately arrested.”

Ms Carroll’s suit seeks unspecified damages for “significant pain and suffering, lasting psychological and pecuniary harms, loss of dignity and self-esteem, and invasion of her privacy.”

It also asks that Mr Trump retract his comments.

‘FRIGHTENED’: SHAME OVER ALLEGED ASSAULT

During the two-week trial, the court heard from Ms Carroll and two other women who claimed they had been sexually assaulted by Mr Trump decades ago.

Ms Carroll said from the witness stand that the alleged rape had left her feeling “ashamed” and unable to have romantic relationships.

She said it took her more than 20 years to go public because she was “frightened” of Mr Trump.

No criminal prosecution can stem from Ms Carroll’s civil case but if Mr Trump loses, it will be the first time he has ever been held legally liable for an allegation of sexual assault.

Around a dozen women accused Mr Trump of sexual misconduct ahead of the 2016 election. He has denied all the allegations and has never been prosecuted over any of them.

Mr Trump did not give evidence in court but sat for a sworn deposition last October, in which he called Ms Carroll “a liar” and “really sick person.”

The case is one of several legal challenges facing the 76-year-old Republican as he seeks to regain the presidency in next year’s election.

Last month, he pleaded not guilty in a criminal case related to a hush-money payment made to a porn star just before the 2016 vote.

Mr Trump is also being investigated over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia, his alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House and his involvement in the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021.

– with AFP

Originally published as $5m damages: Donald Trump sexually abused columnist, jury finds