A New York jury has decided Donald Trump should pay $83.3m (£65m) for defaming columnist E Jean Carroll in 2019 while he was US president. The penalty in the civil trial is made up of $18.3m for compensatory damages and $65m in punitive damages. Mr Trump was found in a previous civil case to have defamed Ms Carroll and sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. He vowed to appeal the latest ruling, calling the case a witch hunt and the verdict “Absolutely ridiculous!”
The compensatory damages are meant to account for the harm that the jury found his comments had done to her reputation and emotional wellbeing. The panel also had to come up with a punitive penalty intended to stop Mr Trump from continuing to speak out against her. It took the jury of seven men and two women less than three hours to reach a verdict on Friday afternoon.
“This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she’s been knocked down, and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down,” Ms Carroll said in a statement. Her attorney, Robbie Kaplan, said in a statement: “Today’s verdict proves that the law applies to everyone in our country, even the rich, even the famous, even former presidents.”
A civil trial last year found he sexually assaulted Ms Carroll, a magazine columnist, in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the 1990s. That jury also found him liable of defamation for calling her accusations a lie – and he was ordered to pay her about $5m in damages. The case that ended on Friday focused on different defamatory comments by Mr Trump in 2019.
Mr Trump faces four criminal cases for a total of 91 felony counts, and is the first president in US history to be charged with a crime. He has repeatedly claimed the various legal cases he faces are being orchestrated by allies of US President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Summery :
– Donald Trump must pay $83.3 million for defaming columnist E Jean Carroll in 2019
– The civil trial includes $18.3 million for compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages
– Trump has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to appeal the ruling
– Ms. Carroll and her attorney view the ruling as a victory and justice for women
– This was the second case involving defamation of Ms. Carroll by Trump
– Trump faces multiple criminal cases and has accused them of being orchestrated by allies of President Biden
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