Domenico Mauceri * –
SAN LUIS OBISPO (USA). “It is a great victory for every woman who gets up after being knocked down and a great defeat for every bully who tried to keep a woman down.” With these words E. Jean Carroll commented on the verdict of the Manhattan court that condemned Donald Trump to pay 83 million dollars in compensation for sexual assault and defamation. Carroll managed to do what so many missed, convince the jury that the tycoon had not only committed a crime but that the continued defamation deserved a significant punishment.
It was Carroll’s second win. It should be remembered that in September last year a jury convicted the former president of sexual assault and imposed a compensation of 5 million dollars. Trump, as he often does, does not accept the verdicts and his continued attacks on Carroll have earned him a second complaint. This time too the former president lost, but the second blow could be decisive, preventing him from continuing to attack Carroll, who has not ruled out a third complaint.
About thirty women have accused Trump of sexual assault, but Carroll is the only one to have reported him and had him convicted. It took a lot of courage because she not only sued an individual, but a sitting president since the legal process began in 2019, when Trump was still the occupant of the White House. The attack occurred in 1996, but a new New York state law allowed Carroll to press charges without considering the year the crime was committed. Carroll, now 80, had worked as a writer and published several books. Furthermore, from 1993 to 2000 she hosted the Ask E. Jean column for Elle magazine where she offered advice to women, frequently recommending “not to build your life around a man.” She lost her job at the magazine due to Trump’s frequent attacks.
Immediately after the second verdict, the former president and current candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2024 election declared that he will appeal because the sentence, in his opinion, is “disgraceful”. He will fight against the “Biden witch hunt against him and the Republican Party”. As he often does, all of his defeats are political, trying to distance himself from legal aspects when they are unfavorable to him. Despite everything, Trump has understood that he has lost and has already announced that he will look for new lawyers, suggesting that Alina Habba, his lawyer in the case in question, would be responsible for his defeat.
In reality, he himself is responsible for the defeat, he did not learn the lesson of the first punishment of 5 million in compensation. The second blow will hurt him as he reiterates the first lawsuit and of the 83 million in compensation, 65 was imposed as punitive damages for his continuous defamatory attacks on Carroll.
The second blow will make him rethink whether to continue his attacks on Carroll. Trump will have to deliver the money to the court which Carroll will be able to access after the conclusion of the appeal. Something similar happened with the first $5 million settlement. Trump would have the money but obviously doesn’t like paying and prefers to use funds contributed by supporters for his legal fees. Despite his rhetoric of being rich, his financial troubles must haunt him. Another New York State civil lawsuit could fine him $375 million and could also cause him to lose his license to do business in the state. It would be another financial blow, although he could cover it considering the money pocketed from the sale of his hotel in Washington DC. The announcement of the fine is expected to take place in a few weeks. In any case, Trump will certainly have liquidity problems.
If the civil cases are going terribly for Trump, the four criminal cases seem to smile on him since they are all late. These are not victories, but the freeze and slowdowns represent a breath of fresh air for Trump, hoping that they will happen after the election, also hoping for his victory at the polls which would serve as a lifesaver. However, one of the criminal cases, the one considered the “lightest”, appears almost ready to take off. This is the case of wrongdoing that occurred in the 2016 election in which Trump allegedly covered up his relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels, falsifications and corruption to cover up potential illegality.
The former president always tries to move everything to the political level and even tried to do so in the courtroom but Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wouldn’t let him. Trump huffed and walked away anticipating the likely negative verdict. When the words and deeds of the former president clash with legal facts, it doesn’t come out well. That’s why he always tries to delay in the hope that something will happen that will prevent the final rulings. In the clash with Carroll Trump comes out with broken bones. The journalist proved that a woman can defeat a bully. Will other women who accused him of sexual impropriety emerge, encouraged by Carroll’s success and determination? And what will American women, who have a slight majority over men, say when they show up at the polls? Some polls had Trump slightly favored over Joe Biden for the November election. However, a very recent report from Quinnipiac University informs us that Biden would prevail (50-44).
* Domenico Maceri, PhD, is professor emeritus at Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, California. Some of his articles have won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.
