According to writer E. Jean Carroll, who claimed that former president Donald Trump had assaulted her, the jury was trying to convey a message with its decision to award $83.3 million in damages for defamatory claims.
In 2019, Carroll accused Trump of forcing himself on her in a department store dressing room decades earlier. A federal jury in New York awarded Carroll $65 million in punitive damages and $18.3 million in compensatory damages for defamatory statements.
Trump has vowed to appeal the decision.
Carroll filed a lawsuit against Trump after he refuted the claims, referred to her as a “whack job,” and stated that they had never met.
Trump’s remarks, Carroll’s lawyers said, made her feel threatened and damaged her image. In the initial case last year, a jury determined that the ex-president was guilty of assault and slander. The second trial’s jury was charged with deciding Carroll’s damages on Friday.
Carroll revealed that it was “terrifying” for her to think about seeing Trump in court and that she had a breakdown in preparation. That changed, though, the moment she laid eyes on him.
An attorney for Carroll, Roberta Kaplan, stated that the jury’s decision was influenced by Trump’s persistent behavior during the trial, whether in court or on social media.
Even though Trump has stayed mum on the subject following the most recent verdict, Carroll clarified that she doesn’t think the ex-president will change his ways.
Citing Mr. Trump’s persistent assaults on social media and his choice to exit the courtroom during her closing statement, she stated that there was “no question” that his actions contributed to the astronomical award amount.
Ms. Carroll said when she saw him in court, she compared him to the emperor in the Hans Christian Andersen story who “wore no clothes.”
