Jury Finds Donald Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse and Awards E. Jean Carroll $5 Million in Damages

A jury in New York found that Donald Trump was responsible for sexually abusing former journalist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s, and will have to compensate her with five million dollars. The nine jurors, six men and three women, found Trump guilty of sexual assault and defamation, although they denied that he raped the former Elle magazine columnist.

The Republican tycoon, accused only by civil means, insisted that he has “no idea who this woman is” and attributed the resolution to the “witch hunt” of which he considers himself a victim. This is the first time that Trumpwho aspires to a new mandate, is sentenced after leaving the presidency of the country. In January his company, the Trump Organization, was sentenced to pay $1.61 million for a tax evasion scheme.

“Staying silent doesn’t work”

Carroll79 years old, denounced last year that the former president raped her in 1996 in the changing rooms of a store on Fifth Avenue in New York. The former journalist also sued the far-right tycoon for defamation after calling the revelation of the fact in a book she published in 2019 a “complete scam”, “falsehood” and a “lie”.

Carroll acknowledged at the trial, which lasted two weeks and in which Trump did not appear, that she felt “ashamed” of this assault that has prevented her from having a romantic relationship since then. “It took me a long time to realize that staying silent doesn’t work”the victim assured.

Two other women, who said they were victims of a sexual assault by Trump, testified at the trial to show that the tycoon responded to a role model. One of them, executive Jessica Leeds, said in court that Trump groped her on a business class domestic flight in the 1970s, while journalist Natasha Stoynoff claimed that the tycoon had kissed her without her consent during an interview in his Mar-a-Lago mansion in 2005.

Nearly a dozen women accused Trump of sexual assault before the 2016 elections in which he became president of the United States. Trump did not testify during the trial nor did his defense call any witnesses, but in a video of the sworn statement he made to Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, last October and shown to the jury, he calls the former journalist ” liar” and “sick”.

The trial lasted only two weeks, and the jury reached a decision in less than three hours. Trump’s lawyers accuse Carroll of concocting the assault for “money, political reasons and status.” Once the decision is announced, the journalist he hugged his lawyers and then received an outstretched hand from Trump’s chief attorney, Joe Tacopina. Carroll’s defense attorney said for her part in a statement that “no one is above the law, not even the former president of the United States.”

“He pushed me against the wall”

Carroll took refuge in a law enacted in November in the state of New York that gave victims of sexual assaults a period of one year to sue their alleged attackers for crimes that had prescribed. In reaching the verdict, the jury had to consider whether the trial proved a preponderance of the evidence, a lesser burden than in criminal trials that require proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

As the victim recounted at the time, it all started as a “funny New York scene”, a chance meeting with the tycoon at the entrance to the Bergdorf Goodman premises. But the pranks in the women’s lingerie section on the sixth floor turned into a nightmare in the fitting room.

The then businessman and celebrity in New York, now 76 years old, recognized her because she wrote a column in Elle magazine, “Ask E. Jean” (ask E.Jean), and invited her in a friendly way to help her. to choose a gift. The tone was “very humorous”said Carrollwho recounted that in the lingerie section, Trump chose a “body” and admitted that it is still not explained, 25 years later, why he followed him to the changing room despite the fact that “comedy was escalating”.

“He pushed me against the wall. I kept laughing, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to make a scene,” Carroll said, recounting that Trump immediately “inserted” his fingers into her vagina and then his penis. “It was very painful; still sitting here I can feel it,” said the 79-year-old former columnist.

“The verdict is a shame”

Shortly after the verdict was released, Trump called it a “disgrace” on his Truth Social account. “I have no idea who this woman is. This verdict is disgraceful, the sequel to the greatest witch hunt of all time“, wrote the businessman in a brief message written entirely in capital letters on his social network minutes after the news.

Trump always maintained that he did not know Carroll, and given the fact that on one occasion he was photographed with her, he replied that at that time he was associated with hundreds of people at social events to whom he shook hands or kissed for no reason. know them. The former president’s campaign said Tuesday that he plans to appeal the verdict, which finds him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

In a message published by the newspaper New York Times, the former president’s campaign doubted the impartiality of the judicial system in “jurisdictions totally controlled by the Democratic party” in the United States, which it considers “compromised by extremist leftist politics.” The team also took the opportunity to return to the electoral interference arguments that led to a debacle for Trump: “We have allowed false and totally fabricated complaints from disturbed people to interfere with our elections, causing great damage.”

Carroll’s case against the former president was added to the recent indictment for concealing a series of bribes paid to Stephanie Clifford, adult film actress, better known as Stormy Danielsafter which Trump also alleged political motivations related to the proximity of the 2024 general elections in which he would face Joe Biden again.

He is also being investigated for his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election in the state of Georgia, his alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House, and his involvement in the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on June 6. January 2021.