After a tense day in court on Friday, which saw Donald Trump storming out in the middle of closing arguments in E. Jean Carroll's second defamation suit against the former president, the jury rendered a verdict on the case after deliberating for less than three hours.
After a considerable amount of time spent positioning Carroll as a liar in her claims against him, and even going so far as to insist that he didn't even know the woman, Trump has now been ordered to pay a total of $83.3 million in damages — which breaks down as $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. As ABC News points out, Carroll had sought at least $12 million for reputation repair, plus additional compensatory and punitive damages, which she was victorious in receiving.
Taking to Truth Social almost immediately after the verdict was received to vent his complaints, Trump writes, "Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!"
