NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has affirmed a jury’s decision requiring former President Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll. The ruling stems from Trump’s social media attacks and public statements made after Carroll accused him of sexual assault.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Trump’s challenge to the defamation award. The court described the damages as “fair and reasonable” and noted the jury’s assessment of Trump’s actions as “remarkably high” in terms of their egregious nature.
In their ruling, the three-judge panel referenced the numerous death threats Carroll has received and stated that the evidence supported a trial judge’s finding of Trump’s “reckless indifference” to her safety. The panel pointed to Trump’s frequent public disparagement of Carroll, who is now 81, as a “politically and financially motivated liar” and suggested that she was too unattractive for him to assault.
Trump’s legal team argued that the damages were excessive, particularly a $65 million punitive award, and sought a new trial, citing an expansion of presidential immunity by the Supreme Court. However, the appeals court firmly rejected these claims, emphasizing the “extraordinary and unprecedented” nature of Trump’s attacks on Carroll.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, expressed satisfaction with the decision, asserting that it validates Carroll’s truthfulness and highlights Trump’s misleading statements. Kaplan noted the intense harassment Carroll faced, which impacted her career at Elle magazine and contributed to her ongoing fear for her safety.
The case evolved from events described in Carroll’s 2019 memoir, in which she accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Following an initial trial, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse but did not classify the incident as rape under New York law.
Trump continuously denied the allegations and claimed that Carroll’s accusations were fabricated to promote her book. He also remarked that Carroll was “not my type.”
The 2023 jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages related to both the alleged assault and Trump’s statements after leaving office. This led to a further trial focused on determining additional damages for his comments while still serving as president in 2019.
Trump’s defense claimed procedural unfairness during the trial, asserting that the judge restricted their ability to assert his innocence. The judge ruled that such matters had already been settled in the initial trial.
The appeals court found no errors in the trial court’s rulings, concluding that the jury’s damage awards properly reflected the case’s unique and serious circumstances. They noted that Trump’s attacks persisted for at least five years, intensifying as the trial neared, and highlighted his declaration during the trial that he would continue to defame Carroll “a thousand times.”
This legal saga is likely on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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