Source: Spencer Platt / Getty
In a striking moment, former President Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a case brought against him by a Manhattan jury.
The civil case came to a historic conclusion on Tuesday (May 9th) in a Manhattan courtroom as the jury composed of six men and three women found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming former magazine writer E. Jean Carroll. The decision meant that Carroll had sufficiently proven her allegations that Trump had committed the abuse upon her over 30 years ago in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store.
While the jury did not find that the former president raped Carroll per her claims, they did award her $5 million in damages. “I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back,” Carroll said in a statement after the verdict. “Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.” Judge Lewis Kaplan informed jurors that they could identify themselves, but advised them not to. “My advice to you is not to identify yourselves. Not now and not for a long time,” he said in his instructions.
In a post made to his Truth Social account after the 3 P.M. verdict, Trump defiantly 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!” His lawyer, Joseph Tacopina said to reporters that they plan to appeal the verdict. He also complained about the jury’s anonymity with their identity kept hidden even from the lawyers, claiming a “bias displayed by the court.” Trump did not testify, but the jury did see the deposition he recorded for the case. He faces no criminal
The decision has left the Republican Party with a quandary regarding their support of Trump for his 2024 presidential aspirations, with some still standing with the twice-impeached president. “That jury is a joke, the whole case is a joke,” said Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio. Others like Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska felt the verdict was just. “I think he showed a lot of disrespect for the jury and the court… The way he treated them, he got what he deserved,” he said afterward.
