Donald Trump vs E Jean Carroll: 5 takeaways as former POTUS ordered to pay $83.3M for defamation
5 things to know about Donald Trump’s $83.3M loss in defamation battle against E Jean Carroll
Former president Donald Trump owes nearly $90 million in total damages to writer E Jean Carroll, who won her second trial against the 77-year-old GOP presidential frontrunner on Friday, January 26.
According to the court's current ruling, Trump must pay $83.3 million to Carroll for defaming her when she stepped forth in 2019 and accused the former president of sexually assaulting her decades ago.
Here are five key points from the verdict and the fast-paced trial:
1. Donald Trump must pay $83.3 million to E Jean Carroll
The jury has awarded a total of $83.3 million to the columnist surpassing the 5 million won in a separate trial against her abuser last year, when Donald Trump was found guilty of sexual abuse against Carroll in 1996. According to a report from The Hill, the $83.3 million sum comprises $18.3 million in compensatory damages, $11 million for a reputational repair program, and $7.3 million in additional funds, along with a whopping $65 million in punitive damages.
2. Donald Trump at his furious best
The former president and his legal team made their dissatisfaction with the whole ordeal, apparent, as the MAGA figurehead voluntarily attended much of the defamation trial and at times became animated and could be heard venting his frustrations to his lawyers. During the trial, whenever US District Judge Lewis A Kaplan ruled against Trump's objections, he and his team would shake their heads in order to express their disagreement with the judge’s ruling.
3. Unanimous verdict reached in E Jean Carroll's case
The verdict of the jury was reached in less than three hours of deliberation, including a lunch break. The nine-member jury retired to commence their deliberations at 1:41 pm, and by 4:15 pm, court officials were informed that a verdict had been reached. The group returned to the courtroom minutes later and delivered a unanimous verdict.
4. Trump will appeal the verdict
Shortly after the decision was made, Trump declared he would file an appeal. The appeal will make it more likely that the jury's decision will be overturned in the future, but in the interim, Trump may still need to pay the $83 million. The former president has been appealing the sexual battery decision against him since the jury returned the verdict last year, but he still needs to deposit a $5.55 million check in the meantime.
5. Trump looking to turn his legal troubles into political gains
Donald Trump attended his court proceedings, turning them into campaign stops during his presidential campaign. He attended the appellate argument as to whether he has criminal immunity and the closing arguments in his civil fraud trial in New York. Subsequently, Trump won the Iowa caucuses and then attended nearly all of his defamation trial, emerged victorious in New Hampshire GOP primaries, made frequent outbursts during Friday’s trial, and even walked out during Carroll's closing argument.
