Donald Trump will be forced to pay New York writer and journalist E Jean Carroll USD $83 million (AUD $126 million). Before the verdict was delivered by a civil jury, the former US President fled the courtroom after Carroll’s legal team argued that he was a liar who believed the rules didn’t “apply to him.”
The damages are in response to Trump’s incitement of hate towards Carroll, who claimed he sexually abused her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.
In 2019, the real estate mogul denied her claims and stated that he’d never met her. He argued that she’d fabricated her allegations to boost sales of her book What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal.
Of the total USD $83 million, $18.3 million is for compensatory damages and USD $65 million is for punitive retribution.
During the trial, Carroll’s team contended that Trump had “shattered” her reputation as a truth-telling journalist.
Trump took to social media to call the trial “one-sided”, accusing the judge of being “an extremely abusive individual” per the Sydney Morning Herald.
In a separate case in 2022, Carroll’s claims were upheld by a jury who found Trump defamed and sexually abused her. The former president was ordered to pay Carroll USD $5 million (AUD $7.6 million).
Trump has repeatedly denied the claims despite the court’s decision. He is currently appealing it.
This latest development is expected to further slow Trump’s momentum in his second crack at getting to the White House.
This past week, the 77-year-old all but sealed his position as the Republican Party’s nominee for the 2024 race with a victory in the state of New Hampshire.
Trump currently sits at 32 delegates. His closest competitor, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has 17. All other competitors have dropped out of the race.
The Republican nominee will face off against incumbent president, democrat Joe Biden in the US election of November 5.
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