Federal Court upholds $5mln verdict against Trump in sexual abuse case

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Dec 2024 21:37

The verdict stems from a civil trial last year where a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll at a Manhattan department store in 1996 and subsequently defaming her.

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People protesting against Donald Trump are outside a Manhattan federal appeals court in New York on Friday, September 6, 2024. (AP)

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury's decision requiring President-elect Donald Trump to pay $5 million in damages for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

The verdict stems from a civil trial last year where a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll at a Manhattan department store in 1996 and subsequently defaming her. The jury awarded $2 million for the abuse and an additional $3 million for defamation.

Trump denied the allegations and appealed the decision, claiming the trial should not have allowed testimony from two other women who accused him of sexual assault. However, the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal.

The three-judge panel concluded, "We conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings." They further stated, "He has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial."

New defamation suit

Carroll's legal team filed an upgraded civil suit against Trump in 2022, accusing him of battery "when he forcibly raped and groped" her and defamation based on a post on his Truth Social platform denying the allegations. The lawsuit sought a civil trial in 2023 and demanded unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for psychological harm, pain, suffering, loss of dignity, and reputational damage.

The introduction to the suit stated, "Roughly 27 years ago, playful banter at the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in New York City took a dark turn when Defendant Donald J. Trump seized Plaintiff E. Jean Carroll, forced her up against a dressing room wall, pinned her in place with his shoulder, and raped her."

During that trial, Trump was found liable, and Carroll was awarded $5 million in compensation. Carroll is now seeking $10 million for defamation related to Trump's comment dismissing her allegations, saying, "She [Carroll] is not my type."

Trump's broader legal troubles

This case is just one of several legal battles Trump is facing. In a separate lawsuit brought by Carroll, another jury awarded her $83 million, a verdict Trump has also appealed.

Additionally, Trump was convicted earlier this year in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records tied to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Although Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump's motion to overturn the conviction, sentencing has been postponed indefinitely.

Meanwhile, two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith—one concerning mishandling classified documents and another related to the 2020 election—were dismissed after Trump's recent presidential election win, following a Justice Department policy that bars prosecuting sitting presidents.