Jury finds Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in E. Jean Carroll case

E. Jean Carroll called the outcome of her civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump a victory for her and other victims of abuse.

A jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll on Tuesday.

She also thanked her legal team and those who stood by her.

Her attorney Roberta Kaplan applauded Carroll's determination and courage to speak out and seek justice. "No one is above the law, not even a former President of the United States,” Kaplan said.

“For far too long, survivors of sexual assault faced a wall of doubt and intimidation. We hope and believe today’s verdict will be an important step in tearing that wall down,” Kaplan said, adding, “This is a victory not only for E. Jean Carroll, but for democracy itself, and for all survivors everywhere.”

Donald Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina called the jury's decision in the civil trial Tuesday a "strange verdict," noting that the jury rejected the rape claim against his client.  

While the jury found that Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in 1996, sufficient to hold him liable for battery, the jury did not find that Carroll proved he raped her. He does not face any jail time as a result of the civil verdict.

Tacopina, speaking outside the Manhattan courthouse, said that they would "obviously" be appealing the verdict.

Trump is "firm in his belief" that he cannot get a fair trial in New York City "based on the jury pool," the attorney said. 

"I think one could argue that that's probably an accurate assessment, based on what happened today," Tacopina said.

He said there were many issues to for an appeal.

The verdict in E. Jean Carroll's case against Donald Trump has no legal effect on his 2024 presidential candidacy.

For one, it is a civil case, and during the 2016 campaign, Trump also faced all sorts of civil action, like the fraud cases concerning Trump University. Those were settled shortly after he was elected and had no bearing on the requirements for the presidency laid out in the Constitution.

Trump also faces unrelated criminal exposure, most prominently in the case that Manhattan prosecutors have brought against him for hush money payments to women claiming extramarital affairs with him.

There are also federal criminal investigations — one concerning the mishandling of documents from his White House and another into the efforts to disrupt Congress’ 2020 election certification — are also encircling him, as is an Atlanta-based probe into the election subversion plots.

Similarly, a successful criminal prosecution of the former president is unlikely to affect, at least from a legal standpoint, his ability to be reelected to the White House.

Notably, there is a precedent for convicted felons to run for federal office — including for the office of the presidency.

Eugene Debs, a perennial socialist candidate for the White House in the early 20th century, was incarcerated on an espionage conviction when he won more than 900,000 votes in a 1920 presidential campaign.

The jury in the E. Jean Carroll civil case against Donald Trump had been instructed that a person is liable for sexual abuse when he subjects another person to sexual contact without her consent. 

Under New York law, “sexual contact” means “any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party.” 

The state’s law says that a person is liable for rape when a person forces sexual intercourse with another person without their consent. For the purposes of this law, “sexual intercourse” means “any penetration, however slight, of the penis into the vaginal opening.” 

Both sexual abuse and rape are sexual offenses in New York.  

While the jury did not find that Carroll had proven rape, they did find that she proved Trump committed sexual abuse, allowing her to receive damages for her civil battery claim. 

Former President Donald Trump called the jury’s verdict a “total disgrace” and said it was a “continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time,” in a post on Truth Social. 

He continued to claim he did not know who E. Jean Carroll was in the post.

His spokesman Steven Cheung echoed Trump in a statement calling the case "bogus."

Former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll was holding attorney Shawn Crowley's hand as the verdict was read in the Manhattan federal court, according to CNN correspondent Kara Scannell, who was in the courtroom at the time.

She said the writer "had a sense of relief," appeared to rock forward and that a smile came across her face.

A jury on Tuesday found former president Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and awarded her a total of about $5 million.

Ahead of the verdict's reading, Judge Lewis Kaplan asked those in the courtroom to have decorum and avoid verbal and physical reactions, which attendees abided by, Scannell said.

Once the jury was escorted out and the verdict was read, Carroll hugged her lead attorney Roberta Kaplan, according to Scannell. Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina made his way to the plaintiff's table and shook Carroll and her attorney's hands, she said.

Before dismissing the jury, Judge Lewis Kaplan informed them that they are now allowed to identify themselves publicly, if they choose — but he advised them not to.

"If you're one who elects to speak to others and to identify yourselves to others, I direct you not to identify anyone else who sat on this jury,” Kaplan added. “Each of you owes that to the other whatever you decided for yourself."

A jury Tuesday found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll, awarding the writer a total of about $5 million in a significant defeat for the former president.  

The jury awarded Carroll about $2 million in damages for her civil battery claim and nearly $3 million for successfully proving her defamation claim against Trump.

Carroll sued Trump for battery, alleging his conduct qualified as a sexual offense because it was rape, sexual abuse or forcible touching. While the jury did not find that she had proven rape, they did find she proved Trump committed sexual abuse, allowing her to receive damages for her battery claim. 

Under New York Adult Survivors Act, passed in May 2022, survivors of sexual offenses are able to file a civil lawsuit against a perpetrator for damages even if the statutory window of time to bring a claim has expired, as long as they can also show the offense qualifies as a sex crime under the law. 

After the verdict was read, Carroll exited the courthouse smiling and holding hands with her attorneys. She made no comment to the media who shouted questions in her direction.

Her attorney Roberta Kaplan spoke briefly, saying: “We’re very happy.”

A jury in Manhattan federal court found Donald Trump liable for defamation in a civil lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.  

Trump should pay nearly $3 million in damages to Carroll for successfully proving her defamation claim against him, the jury found. 

It also found that Trump should pay about $2 million in damages for her civil battery claim, bringing the total to $5 million.