Donald Trump was found guilty by a New York jury of defaming columnist E Jean Carroll in 2019 while he was US president, and he must pay $83.3 million (£65 million). It was previously discovered that Mr. Trump had sexually abused Ms. Carroll in the 1990s and had defamed her. Punitive fines of $65 million and compensatory damages totaling $18.3 million make up the jury’s penalty in the civil trial. “Absolutely ridiculous!” was how Mr. Trump described the verdict, calling the case a witch hunt. He pledged to appeal.
The compensatory damages are intended to make up for the harm his remarks caused to her emotional stability and reputation. The panel was also required to devise a punitive measure meant to deter Mr. Trump from voicing his opposition to her in the future. The seven-man, two-woman jury took less than three hours to deliberate and render a decision on Friday afternoon. According to a statement released by her lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, “Today’s verdict proves that the law applies to everyone in our country, even the rich, even the famous, even former presidents.”
Because of the delicate nature of the case, Judge Lewis Kaplan had earlier in the trial cautioned jurors not to use their true names with one another. He told them they were welcome to talk about their experience once it ended. However, he went on to say that he thought it best if they kept their involvement in this case a secret. Even on Friday morning, Mr. Trump has denied any misconduct and has refuted even having met Ms. Carroll. However, after the verdict, he held back from going after her personally when he criticized the decision in a post on his social networking site, Truth Social.
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