UPDATED 3:48 P.M.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump was ordered by a federal jury on Friday to pay $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, who accused the former U.S. president of destroying her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her nearly three decades ago.
Carroll, 80, sued Trump in November 2019 over his denials five months earlier that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Trump, 77, claimed that he had never heard of Carroll, and that she made up her story to boost sales of her memoir.
His lawyers said Carroll was hungry for fame and enjoyed the attention from supporters for speaking out against her nemesis.
Another jury last May ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused Carroll. Trump is appealing that decision.
In the current trial, Carroll had sought at least $10 million more, saying Trump had “shattered” her reputation as a respected journalist who told the truth.
She also sought punitive damages, in part to keep Trump from repeating his denials.
TRUMP‘S CAMPAIGN
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw both trials, said the earlier verdict was binding for the second trial, meaning the only issue for jurors was how much Trump should pay.
Trump, a Republican, has used Carroll’s case and his other legal travails to bolster his campaign to retake the White House in the November election in a likely showdown against Democrat Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020.
Trump faces 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. He has pleaded not guilty in all of the cases, and has portrayed himself as the victim of politically motivated lies and an out-of-control judicial system.
During the Carroll trial, Trump was heard muttering in court that the case was a “con job” and “witch hunt” and that he still did not know who Carroll was, prompting the judge to twice admonish him to keep quiet.
Trump stalked out of the courtroom during the closing argument on Friday by Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, but returned for his own lawyer’s argument.
Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, had argued that Trump acted as though he wasn’t bound by the law.
“This trial is about getting him to stop, once and for all,” she added. “Now is the time to make him pay for it dearly.”
‘COCOON OF LOVE’
Trump‘s lawyer Alina Habba countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll’s memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump‘s denials that began five hours later.
She also argued that Carroll enjoyed her newfound fame and was “happier than ever,” citing her testimony that she had entered a “cocoon of love” from her supporters.
A Northwestern University damages expert who testified on Carroll’s behalf estimated the reputational harm from Trump‘s statements was $7.3 million to $12.1 million.
On Thursday, Trump spent only four minutes defending himself on the witness stand after Judge Kaplan forbade him and his lawyers from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled.
Trump was allowed to confirm his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had been shown, in which he called Carroll’s claims a “hoax” and said she was “mentally sick.”
Carroll wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She said those appearances dried up because of Trump.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Jonathan Oatis)
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -A jury in federal court in Manhattan on Friday reached a verdict in writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Jurors heard closing arguments in the case earlier in the day, with Carroll’s lawyer telling them that Trump should pay “dearly” for defaming Carroll and denying he raped her, likely in the tens of millions of dollars.
But a lawyer for Trump countered that Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, does not deserve a cent, having enjoyed the attention and suffered neither professional nor emotional harm after Trump branded her a liar.
Carroll, 80, is seeking at least $10 million for Trump having defamed her in June 2019, when he was president, by denying her claim that he had raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
She said Trump‘s comments caused her to be subjected to 4-1/2 years of continuous attacks, including death threats.
Trump, 77, accused Carroll of making up the encounter to boost sales of her memoir, and has maintained he had never heard of her. He has also attacked Carroll during the trial and on the campaign trial, proclaiming her case a “witch hunt” and a “con job.”
Another jury last May ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused her.
Trump shook his head in the courtroom after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told jurors it was an “established” fact that Trump had sexually assaulted Carroll.
‘THIS IS HER LIFE’
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, urged jurors to punish Trump for persistently lying about her client, and destroying her reputation as a truth-telling journalist.
“We all have to follow the law,” Kaplan said. “Donald Trump, however, acts as if these rules and laws just don’t apply to him.
“This trial is about getting him to stop, once and for all,” she added. “Now is the time to make him pay for it dearly.”
Trump‘s lawyer, Alina Habba, countered that it was the publication of excerpts from Carroll’s memoir in New York magazine that triggered the attacks, not Trump‘s denials, which began five hours later.
“It just doesn’t add up,” Habba said. “Even if you believe Ms. Carroll, that she really and truly feared for her safety because of the emails she received, she has not shown what she needs to show, that President Trump was the reason she received them.”
Habba also said Carroll enjoyed her new fame, citing her comments that she felt “buoyant” and “fabulous” and entered a “cocoon of love” from supporters.
“She was happier than ever,” Habba said. “Don’t take my word for it. Just ask E. Jean.”
Trump, a Republican, is seeking to retake the White House in the November election in a likely showdown against Democrat Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020.
The race is expected to be close even though Trump faces 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments, including two cases accusing him of trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump walked out of the courtroom during Roberta Kaplan’s closing argument, but returned for Habba’s.
He has tried to make his legal travails a campaign asset, calling himself a victim of biased prosecutors and an unfair judicial system.
Carroll’s legal team urged jurors to ignore that.
“This isn’t a campaign rally,” Shawn Crowley, another lawyer for Carroll, said after Habba spoke. “Donald Trump is not the victim. This is her life. Help her take it back.”
‘SWISS CHEESE’
Jurors in the current trial will decide only how much Trump owes Carroll for harming her reputation, and whether to impose punitive damages to stop him from defaming her again.
A damages expert testified that the reputational harm alone was $7.3 million to $12.1 million.
Attorney Roberta Kaplan said an “unusually high” punitive damages award might also be needed to deter Trump, a billionaire.
“While Donald Trump may not care about the law, while he certainly does not care about truth, he does care about money,” she said.
Habba urged jurors to ignore the damages expert, saying her report “has more holes than Swiss cheese.”
On Thursday, Trump spent only four minutes defending himself on the witness stand after Judge Kaplan forbade him and his lawyers from revisiting issues that the first trial had settled.
Trump was allowed to confirm his October 2022 deposition testimony, which jurors had been shown, in which he called Carroll’s claims a “hoax” and said she was “mentally sick.”
Carroll wrote the “Ask E. Jean” column for Elle from 1993 to 2019, and often appeared on such programs as NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She said those appearances dried up because of Trump.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Jonathan Oatis)
