Donald Trump is to pay five million dollars in damages to the author and journalist E. Jean Carroll, who sued him for defamation after he claimed her statement was a lie made up to sell more books. A New York jury has found the former president guilty of sexual assault, but not rape.
The civil case has its background in accusations that the former president allegedly raped the author and journalist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. The allegations were later published as an excerpt from a book in New York Magazine.
The jury, which announced its decision on Tuesday, followed Carroll’s line and convicted Donald Trump of defamation. The jury found him guilty of sexual assault, but not rape. According to the jury, the assault took place inside a department store in New York in the 1990s, just as Carroll claimed.
Carroll smiled when the verdict was read inside the courtroom, CNN reports. Afterwards, she reacted to the news by saying that the world “finally” knows the truth.
“It is not just for me but for all women who have suffered because they were not believed,” she said in a statement according to Reuters.
Donald Trump must pay a total of five million dollars, equivalent to SEK 50 million, in damages to Carroll. Since it is a civil case and not a criminal case, a prison sentence has never been an issue for Trump.
“I have no idea who this woman is. The verdict is shameful – a continuation of the biggest witch hunt of all time,” wrote the former president in capital letters on his social media platform, Truth Social, after the jury’s announcement.
He also says he will appeal the verdict, reports Reuters. Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina calls the ruling “strange” and claims there are many reasons to appeal.
“Many things have happened in this case that are outside the bounds of decency,” he said according to CNN.
The trial against Donald Trump has been going on for about two weeks. The jury that decides the case consists of six men and three women. He himself has refused to be physically present at the trial and his lawyers have also tried to invalidate it.
