Appeals Court Upholds Verdict in E. Jean Carroll Case

A federal appeals court upheld a jury’s decision that found President-elect Donald Trump liable for sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll. Trump was ordered to pay $5 million.

According to a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Trump “has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings.”

“Further, he has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial,” the ruling said.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement, as per NBC News, “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.”

Carroll alleged in 2019 that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990’s. The jury did not find that Trump raped Carroll, but did find that he sexually abused her.

At the time, Trump said at the White House, “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened.”

Trump made a counterclaim in 2023 that alleged Carroll knew her statements were “false” and were made with “reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.”

“Counterclaim Defendant made these false statements with actual malice and ill will with an intent to significantly and spitefully harm and attack Counterclaimant’s reputation, as these false statements were clearly contrary to the jury verdict in Carroll II whereby Counterclaimant was found not liable for rape by the jury,” the counter-lawsuit adds.

Trump’s lawyers added that Carroll’s claims resulted in “significant harm to [Trump’s] reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result.”

The counterclaim lawsuit was dismissed.

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