Jury finds that Donald Trump abused E. Jean Carroll: After just over two hours of deliberations, the jury in the New York case found that Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, but fell short of holding him liable for rape.
Donald Trump Has More Legal Trouble
After less than three hours of deliberation, a jury in Manhattan on Tuesday found that Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll.
However, the jury fell short of finding Trump liable for rape, the most serious accusation that he faced.
The jury assessed damages of about $5 million, for both the alleged sexual abuse and defamation.
The verdict followed a two-week trial, with the verdict coming back rather quickly.
The case was not a criminal trial, meaning that Trump was not convicted of a crime and will not have to register as a sex offender.
Two women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct were among those who testified in the case, as were friends of Carroll, who she told about the assault at the time.
The suit was made possible by the passage of the Adult Survivors Act in New York.
Trump did not appear for the trial, and turned down the opportunity to provide testimony in the case.
His attorneys also did not present a defense case, although they did cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses. And a deposition by Trump was played before the jury.
Trump posted about the case on Truth Social on the morning of the verdict.
“Waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation where I, despite being a current political candidate and leading all others in both parties, am not allowed to speak or defend myself, even as hard-nosed reporters scream questions about this case at me,” Trump said on the social network. “In the meantime, the other side has a book falsely accusing me of Rape, & is working with the press. I will therefore not speak until after the trial, but will appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, no matter the outcome.”
Trump Responds
Then, after the verdict, Trump took to Truth Social again.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!,” the former president said in all caps.
It is not true that Trump was “not allowed to speak or defend myself,” unless he is referring to the instructions of his own attorneys, which may very well be the case.
With Trump promising to appeal, combined with Trump’s longstanding habit of not paying people what he owes them, it’s unlikely Carroll will collect that more than $5 million anytime soon.
What Happens Now?
Now that the trial is over, the question will turn to whether having been deemed guilty by a civil jury of sexual abuse will hurt Trump’s political standing, as he is running for president again.
“A basic uncertainty has shadowed the court proceedings this week. Does this story amount to a political cataclysm or nothing at all?” The New Yorker wrote of the trial earlier this week. “If you just describe the situation neutrally, like a news anchor might—a civil suit in which a magazine writer has accused the former President of the United States of rape will go to a jury trial next week—then it certainly sounds like front-page material. And yet it simply hasn’t been.”
In addition to the Carroll case, of course, Trump has been indicted for falsifying business records in state court in New York, and is facing investigations in Georgia (for his part in 2020 election interference in that state), and the special counsel probes into the 2020 election and the Mar-a-Lago document handling.
And Trump has also been sued in civil court by New York Attorney General Letitia James. All those things, including the possibility of trials and court appearances, seem likely to hang over Donald Trump as he attempts to retake the presidency in 2024.
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Expertise and Experience: Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
