Trump loses appeal of E. Jean Carroll sexual-abuse verdict
A federal appeals court has upheld a jury’s verdict that Donald Trump owes writer E. Jean Carroll $5m in damages for sexual abuse.
A federal appeals court has upheld a jury’s verdict that President-elect Donald Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and owes her $5 million in damages.
In a 77-page written decision, a unanimous three-judge panel in New York rejected Mr Trump’s argument that the trial judge erred by allowing jurors to hear the now-infamous “Access Hollywood” recording where Mr Trump can be heard talking about groping women in 2005.
The Access Hollywood tape was admissible as evidence of a pattern of behaviour, the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals said, and “the jury could have reasonably concluded from those statements that, in the past, Mr Trump had kissed women without their consent and then proceeded to touch their genitalia.”
Ms Carroll first went public with the allegation that Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in a 2019 New York magazine article.
Ms Carroll later sued Mr Trump, claiming he lied when he denied her assault allegations and that the statements he made were damaging to her reputation and her career. In 2023, Ms Carroll took the witness stand over three days of testimony during the two-week civil trial.
Mr Trump chose not to testify – or attend any of the proceedings in person – but in a videotaped deposition under oath he accused Ms Carroll of making up her allegations for publicity and political reasons, calling it “the most ridiculous, disgusting story.” The jury didn’t find that Mr Trump committed rape but found it more likely than not that he sexually abused Ms Carroll in a dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s.
Jurors also found that Mr Trump defamed Ms Carroll in comments he made denying her allegations. The jury awarded Ms Carroll a total of $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
A different jury, in a separate federal case, ordered Mr Trump to pay $83 million for defaming Ms Carroll. That January 2024 verdict covered statements Mr Trump made during his White House tenure in which he said Ms Carroll, an author and former Elle magazine columnist, fabricated the assault to generate publicity for her new book.
Ms Carroll’s lawyer said that she was gratified by Monday’s ruling. A Mr Trump spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, ABC News agreed to contribute $15 million to Mr Trump’s presidential foundation or museum to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by the president-elect against the network and its star anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Stephanopoulos said on air that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping Ms Carroll. A federal jury determined Mr Trump was liable for sexual abuse.
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