The verdict: Trump must pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for defamation
The former president expressed his disbelief on his social networks and announced that he would appeal as soon as possible.
(Cordon Press)
Donald Trump must pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for defamation. A New York grand jury on Friday ordered the former president to pay the sum on the grounds that the columnist was injured by the former president's remarks in June 2019. In total, for the two lawsuits, Carroll will end up receiving nearly $90 million from Trump.
After hearing final oral arguments from both sides on Friday, jurors began a deliberation process that lasted approximately three hours, before returning with the final verdict.
The jury foreman announced that the former president should pay $11 million for a reputation repair program, $7.3 million in other compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. Trump left the courtroom shortly before the announcement and did not hear the verdict live.
The former president was very present in court during the trial, even briefly taking the stand as a final witness. He appeared in the courtroom every day except for one day when he attended his mother-in-law's funeral.
Minutes after the verdict, he posted on his Truth Social account, promising to appeal the decision: "Absolutely ridiculous! 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. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" he wrote.
The process had been delayed for several days after the judge issued a delay due to Covid-19 concerns.
This is the second time that Carroll has prevailed against Trump in court, as District Judge Lewis Kaplan had already ruled that Trump was guilty of defamation, so the jury simply considered the question of damages.
The verdict came amid the Republican presidential primaries, which Trump has dominated. He won Iowa first by a resounding margin of 30 percentage points and then went on to take New Hampshire by more than 10 points.
Now he hopes to defeat Nikki Haley, the only other candidate remaining in the race, in South Carolina and thus confirm the inevitability of his nomination.
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