Federal appeals court in US has confirmed a $5 million civil verdict that found former US President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse of writer E Jean Carroll. Court has also denied Trump’s motion for a new trial, stating that any alleged errors by the trial judge did not impact the case’s outcome.
Trump’s appeal challenged the jury’s verdict, arguing that the trial judge had made several mistakes, including permitting testimony from two other women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Trump. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in admitting evidence. It also added that Carroll’s case was strong enough to dismiss claims that Trump’s rights were compromised.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, commented on this ruling, “Both E Jean Carroll and I are pleased by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.
Carroll had initially claimed that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s. She later sued him for defamation when he denied the allegations, attacked her appearance, and said she was making the story up to promote her book.
In another case, a different jury gave Carroll $83.3 million in damages, finding that Trump defamed her with his denials. Trump has appealed that verdict as well.
The jury did not find enough evidence to conclude that Trump raped Carroll, but found his actions were sexual abuse and warranted the battery claim and civil penalties.
Carroll filed her lawsuit under New York’s “Adult Survivors Act,” a law that temporarily allowed sexual assault cases with expired statutes of limitation to proceed.
Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, blasted the verdict and again vowed to take the case all the way through appeals. “The American people demand an end to the political weaponization of our justice system,” Cheung said, declaring the case a “hoax” and vowing that there would be “vindication” in court.
The civil verdict doesn’t carry jail time for Trump, but it continues the legal headache for the former president as he runs for president.
