A New York jury has ordered Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages for defaming writer Jean Carroll. In 2019, when he was in the White House, the former president had denied being guilty of sexual assault against the writer, calling the case “a total scam”, “a scam and a lie”.
The journalist and writer, who had accused him of raping her in 1996 in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, had asked for 24 million in compensation, but the jury (made up of seven men and two women who had to determine the amount of damages) decided for a much higher figure: 18.3 million in “compensatory” damages (for emotional stress and damage to reputation and therefore loss of earnings) and 65 million in “punitive” damages (as a deterrent against further defamation).
For the same matter, in May 2023 Trump had already been convicted of violence and defamation and in that case the compensation sentence was equal to 5 million dollars. The former president, who was not required to be present in the courtroom, left the court for the first time when the jury entered, then returned to listen to the arguments of his defense lawyer, and finally left the building before the judgment.
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, claimed that Trump had told the truth, in 2019, refuting Carroll’s claims. The lawyer also argued that Carroll’s association with Trump had given the writer the fame she desired and that the death threats she had received could not be attributed to the former president’s words.
The tycoon commented on the verdict on his social network “Truth” saying he “totally disagrees” and announcing that he will appeal: “Absolutely ridiculous! I totally disagree with the verdicts, and I will appeal this entire witch hunt directed by Joe Biden and focused on me and the Republican Party. Our legal system is out of control and is being used as a political weapon. They took away all our First Amendment rights. This is not America!”