Trump
Sinead Butler
May 09, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to angrily hit back at a jury that found him liable for sexually abusing E Jean Carroll, and claimed he has no idea who she is.
A verdict was reached by the Manhattan jury in less than three hours where the former US president was found liable for sexual abuse of the writer but not for rape, in a civil trial that lasted two weeks.
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While Trump was also found to have defamed the former Elle advice columnist.
As a result, Carroll has been awarded $5m in compensatory and punitive damages ($2 million for her civil battery claim, and nearly $3 million for defamation) following a unanimous verdict from the nine jurors consisting of six men and three women.
Posting in all caps on the social media platform, the former US president expressed his fury at the verdict, calling it a "disgrace."
He wrote: "I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!"
\u201c\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Ron Filipkowski (@Ron Filipkowski) 1683662460
The former US president did not testify in the case, but the jury was played his deposition where he denied raping Carroll and at one point bizarrely mistook a picture of Carroll, for a picture of his second wife, Marla Maples.
Carroll sued the 76-year-old politician, media personality, and businessman after she alleged he raped her in a dressing room at the Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in 1996.
She also sued Trump for defamation after Trump accused her of lying about the attack and “destroyed her reputation”.
Upon leaving court after the verdict, Carroll did not speak to reporters, but her lawyer Roberta Kaplan said, "We are very happy."
While spokesman for Trump's 2024 Republican presidential campaign said, “This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win," as per CNBC.
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