E. Jean Carroll was awarded $5 million after a jury judged Donald Trump responsible for sexually assaulting her in 1996. This verdict might follow the former president as he runs for re-election.
The jury reached a divided decision, rejecting Carroll’s allegation of being raped and holding Trump accountable for a less serious sexual assault.
The verdict, however, deepens Trump’s legal problems and provides Carroll with justice after years of Trump’s mocking and denial of her claims.
A few hours after the start of the hearings, she nodded as the decision was revealed in a federal courtroom in New York City.
She then hugged supporters and smiled through tears. Carroll’s laughter and sobs could be heard when the courtroom got quiet.
In addition, the jury determined that Trump had slandered Carroll after she made her claims public. Trump made the decision to skip the civil trial and was not there when the judgement was announced.
Trump reaffirmed his denial that he knows Carroll in a statement posted to his social media account shortly after the conviction was announced, calling it “a disgrace” and “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.” He said he will appeal.
Following the announcement of the verdict, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, and Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, embraced.
He told reporters outside the courthouse that the jury’s decision to find Trump guilty of sexual assault while still finding him not guilty of the rape accusation was “perplexing” and “strange.”
He remarked, “Obviously, a part of me was quite thrilled that Donald Trump was not called a rapist.
He supported Trump’s decision to stay away from the trial by claiming that he would have joined “a circus atmosphere, and having him here would be more of a circus.”
What more can you say but ‘I didn’t do it,’ continued Tacopina? And he said that out in public.
Carroll claimed in a written statement made public after she left the courtroom, grinning but silent, that she had sued Trump to “clean my identity and to get my life back.
The truth is now finally known by everyone. This victory belongs to all women who have endured suffering as a result of being disbelieved, not just to me.
In a prepared statement, Kaplan expressed her hope that her client’s case would demonstrate that no one is exempt from the law, “not even the president of the United States.”
It was unclear whether the decision would affect Trump’s third presidential campaign, if at all. He holds a dominant position among GOP candidates and has endured few political repercussions as a result of earlier scandals, including the offensive “Access Hollywood” tape.
In the immediate wake of the decision, his GOP competitors mainly kept quiet, demonstrating their hesitation to alienate Trump’s fans, who are essential to his chances of winning the nomination.
One of the few loud Trump opponents in the campaign, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, said the decision is “another example of the indefensible behavior of Donald Trump.”
More than a dozen women, including Carroll, have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment.
She made her accusation that the Republican sexually assaulted her in an upscale Manhattan department store’s dressing room public in 2019.
Trump, 76, rejected it, claiming he was unaware of Carroll and had never met her in the store.
She created “a fraudulent and false story” to promote a memoir, calling her a “nut job” in his words. read full article here
