Today, a jury at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York City ruled in favor of E. Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump. In the ruling, they determined that Trump owed $83.3 million in damages for statements he made after she accused him of sexual assault in a 2019 story for New York Magazine.
It was one of two defamation suits Carroll filed (just last year, Carroll also won a civil suit against Trump, in which that jury found Trump liable for the sexual abuse of Carroll in the mid-1990s and for defamation against her) citing comments that Trump made between 2019 and 2022 which she says negatively impacted her reputation and opened her up to a slew of verbal abuse, including threats to her safety. Trump’s statements included comments that she was a “whack job” and that her claims were “absolutely ridiculous.” Carroll argues that, in addition to putting her life at risk, the statements destroyed her prolific career as a writer for outlets such ELLE, Esquire, and Outsider.
The New York Times reports that after the verdict was delivered, several of Carroll’s friends and family members, who were in attendance, could be seen wiping away tears. This trial brings to an end the lengthy, highly publicized legal battle that Carroll has been fighting over the last two years. The trial has thrust Carroll into the spotlight as Trump has battled numerous other legal battles and attempted a second run at the presidency, but Carroll and her lawyers say that they’d like the suit to simply “make him stop” his public remarks about her.
"This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she’s been knocked down, and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down," Carroll said after the trial.
Trump, meanwhile, was informed about the verdict while on his way to LaGuardia airport in New York ahead of a Las Vegas campaign rally when he was informed about the result. On his social media site, Truth Social, he called the jury's decision "absolutely ridiculous."
