President-elect Donald Trump has lost his bid to overturn the $5 million jury verdict against him in New York journalist E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault lawsuit.
A federal appeals court in Manhattan on Monday upheld the May 2023 civil verdict finding Trump, 78, liable for sexually abusing the “Ask E. Jean” advice columnist in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room in 1996 and of then defaming her in a lengthy October 2022 Truth Social post calling her claims a “hoax.”
Donald Trump lost his bid to overturn a $5 million sexual assault and defamation verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against him. REUTERSThe three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said they weren’t persuaded by Trump’s claims that Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan abused his discretion at trial by giving the jury certain evidence, including the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump was caught saying he grabs women by their genitals and they let him because he’s a star.
Trump had also argued that he should be entitled to a new trial because of alleged errors made by Kaplan.
“The district court did not abuse its discretion in making any of the challenged evidentiary rulings,” the appeals ruling read. “The jury made its assessment of the facts and claims on a properly developed record.”
Trump is also appealing an $83.3 million jury verdict from January 2024 finding Trump damaged Carroll’s reputation after she first went public with her allegations in June 2019 by claiming he’d never met her, saying she wasn’t his type and calling her a liar who was making up a story to help her sell her new memoir.
A jury in May 2023 found Trump liable of sexually assaulting Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room in 1996 and later defaming her in a Truth Social post calling her claims a “hoax.” Paul Martinka“The American People have re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax, which will continue to be appealed,” Trump political adviser Steven Cheung said in a statement Monday. “We look forward to uniting our country in the new administration as President Trump makes America great again.”
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, said they are “gratified by today’s decision.”
“We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments,” Kaplan said.
