On Tuesday, a New York jury found former President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll nearly 30 years ago and defaming her last year when he said her allegations of rape were a lie. Notably, the jury also rejected Carroll’s rape allegations.
The jury, comprised of six men and three women, began deliberations in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan just before noon ET after Judge Lewis Kaplan gave the panel its final instructions.
It took the nine-person jury just three hours to determine a verdict. Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in damages.
The case involves Carroll, 79, who alleges Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s. Due to the statute of limitations, Trump could not be prosecuted for the alleged rape; however, Carroll pursued a civil claim of battery, which is allowed under a new state law enacted late last year.
In addition to battery, Carroll also accused Trump of defaming her when he called her allegations made up.
“I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” Trump told The Hill in 2019 when asked about the allegations.
Trump later reiterated his denial, saying Carroll was “totally lying.”
“Totally lying. I don’t know anything about her,” Trump said. “I know nothing about this woman. I know nothing about her. She is — it’s just a terrible thing that people can make statements like that.”
The verdict comes one month after Trump was arrested in Manhattan over alleged hush money payments made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, marking the first time in United States history that a former president has faced criminal charges.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
