Donald Trump ordered to pay millions to E. Jean Carroll for defaming her : NPR

A New York jury on Friday ordered former President Donald Trump to pay a total of $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for ruining his credibility as an advice columnist when he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault.

The jury awarded Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, $11 million for damage to his reputation and another $7.3 million. Trump will almost certainly appeal the verdict.

Despite the amount of the penalty, the verdict was not unexpected. Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled even before the trial that Trump had actually defamed Carroll. The jury only had to decide how much Trump owed him, not whether he was responsible. This is the second time Trump has been ordered to pay Carroll; Last year, a jury ordered him to pay $5 million in a separate defamation case.

In response, the Trump 2024 campaign issued a statement arguing, without offering evidence, that the trial is a “political weapon.”

“Absolutely ridiculous!” the statement said. “I strongly disagree with both verdicts and will appeal this entire Biden-led witch hunt focused on me and the Republican Party.”

The jury’s decision comes just days after Trump won the New Hampshire primary and became the Republican Party’s favorite. The case is one of several involving Trump, who is also awaiting a verdict in a civil trial that could result in him paying at least $250 million to the state of New York for his business practices, which a judge has deemed fraudulent.

He could also be banned from doing business in the state where he made his name as a real estate magnate. In total, Trump faces 91 charges in federal and state trials, from those in New York to those at the federal level related to the January 6 Capitol riot.

What is this case about?

In 2019, Carroll, an advice columnist and freelance writer, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. The accusation, detailed in her book, was first seen on a NY Magazine article. After the article was published, Trump issued two statements in response to reporters, including one in which he flatly denied her claim and said she was “not my type.”

Carroll then sued Trump for defamation, arguing that his comments ruined her reputation as a reliable media source and resulted in a series of insults and threatening messages, emails and comments on her social media accounts.

At the time, Trump’s attorney general, Bill Barr, blocked the lawsuit, arguing that Trump had made the comments in his official capacity as president. This caused the lawsuit to remain stuck in court for several years.

In 2023, Biden’s Justice Department changed course and allowed the first defamation lawsuit to move forward. Partly because of the 2023 decision that found Trump liable for assault, Judge Kaplan ruled that Trump had defamed Carroll in 2019 and that the former president was also liable.

What testimony did he show?

Carroll herself was the first witness to take the stand, coming face to face with Trump, who attended the first days of the trial.

Carroll testified that she felt as if Trump, calling her a liar, “ended the world she had been living in.”

While he used to receive hundreds of emails asking for advice for his column, he said, he now receives fewer than 10 a month. Instead, she said, she received threats and insults. Carroll’s attorney showed the jury several social media posts, messages and emails sent to Carroll in the days following Trump’s remarks.

“I filed a lawsuit to get my reputation back,” Carroll said.

But Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, argued that the damages should not be attributed to Trump himself. Habba also showed the jury several social media posts, but these were posted in the five-hour “gap” between posting Carroll’s allegations and making the Trump comments for which he is being sued.

Habba also focused on the praise and support Carroll received for her accusation and questioned the writer’s motive for suing and removing threats sent to her email.

Trump doubled down on accusations that Carroll is lying

After weeks of promising to take the stand as a witness in his defense, Trump finally did so on January 25. But it didn’t last long: only a few minutes.

In his testimony he said he “100%” stood by his previous statement. When asked by his attorney if he had ever ordered anyone to hurt Carroll, Trump said he didn’t do it and that he only wanted to defend himself, his family and his presidency.

Beyond his testimony, Trump was present for several days of the trial and spoke about the case outside the courtroom.

During the first day of testimony, Judge Kaplan reprimanded him for making comments during Carroll’s time on the stand. Carroll’s attorneys twice noted that they could hear him and that the jury could, too. Kaplan warned Trump that his right to be present could be taken away.

Trump also spoke during campaign rallies in Iowa and New Hampshire, and to reporters in New York, about his belief that this trial is election interference, often reiterating claims similar to those for which he was being sued.