On Friday, January 26, 2024, a jury awarded former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll in $18.3 million in compensatory damage and $65 million in punitive damages. The damages awarded to Carroll stem from a previous ruling that determined former President Donald Trump had made defamatory statements against the former columnist while refuting allegations that he sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990’s.
The road to Friday’s ruling started way back in June of 2019 when Carroll published an excerpt of her memoir, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal. Within the excerpt, the former columnist accused former President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department story during the mid-1990s. After learning of the accusation, Trump denied the interaction.
“I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened,” he said.
By November of 2019, Carroll formally filed a defamation lawsuit against the former President. In response, Trump’s legal representative attempted to argue that Carroll’s lawsuit should be aimed at the federal government rather than Trump because of his role as the President of the United States. Ultimately, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan refused to substitute the government as a defendant and determined that his comments were not made within the scope of his presidential duties. Still, the lawsuit stalled in court until Carroll sued Trump once more under the New York Adult Survivors Act, a newly-enacted piece of legislation providing defendants to file civil lawsuits against plaintiffs for sexually violent crimes after the statute of limitations had expired. By May of 2023, the first of two lawsuits was brought into court and Trump was found guilty of defamation and sexual abuse. As a result, she was awarded $5 million in damages.
“Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed,” Carroll stated.
In January of 2024, Trump and Carroll returned for the second of the two civil lawsuits filed by the writer. After hearing from both Trump and Carroll’s legal representative, the jury awarded the former columnist the aforementioned $83.3 million in damages. Despite losing both trials, the former President continues to push for an appeal.
“Absolutely ridiculous,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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.”
Trump’s legal woes do not end here. As he pushes for an appeal in New York, he also faces legal trouble in Georgia and the District of Columbia pertaining to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the most recent election and his handling of classified documents. Not to be forgotten, he also faces fraud charges in New York.
