NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has upheld a jury’s decision against former President Donald Trump in a case where he was accused of sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. The court confirmed that Trump failed to prove that the district court made errors substantial enough to justify a new trial.
In their decision, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that Trump did not meet the necessary burden to demonstrate that alleged errors in the trial impacted his significant rights. This response came after Trump sought to challenge a May 2023 verdict that found him liable for both the sexual abuse of Carroll at a Bergdorf Goodman department store and for defaming her after she brought the allegations to light.
Carroll, who publicized her accusations, was rewarded $5 million in damages following the jury’s decision, affirmatively linking Trump to the alleged assault.
Further financial repercussions for Trump emerged from a separate civil lawsuit regarding his defamatory statements made about Carroll while he served as president. In this instance, Trump was ordered to compensate Carroll an additional $83 million.
The appeal, presented by Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, last September, argued that the district court improperly allowed testimony from witnesses who corroborated Carroll’s account, claiming their bias against Trump tainted their testimony. Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations, stating that she fabricated the incident to promote her book, and claimed he had never met her.
Key evidence discussed during the trial included a controversial “Access Hollywood” tape from 2005, where Trump is heard describing behavior towards women that the jury found paralleled Carroll’s claims. The appeals court remarked that this tape, combined with testimonies, sufficiently depicted a pattern of Trump’s uninvited physical advances towards women.
Following the court’s decision, Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, criticized the ruling, asserting it was part of ongoing political efforts to undermine Trump, who he claimed was re-elected with a solid mandate. He expressed intentions to challenge the verdict and end what he described as “witch hunts” fueled by political motives.
On the other side, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, expressed satisfaction with the appellate court’s careful adjudication and the upholding of the initial verdict.
In a related matter, a significant financial settlement was reached earlier this month involving ABC News, which agreed to contribute $15 million towards the construction of Donald Trump’s presidential library. This settlement resolved a dispute arising from a claim inaccurately made by ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping Carroll.
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