A U.S. federal appeals court has affirmed a ruling in favor of journalist E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $83.3 million in a defamation case against former President Donald Trump. This decision follows Trump’s repeated attacks on Carroll via social media after she accused him of sexual assault.
In a ruling issued on Monday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump’s appeal against the defamation case, stating that “the jury’s damages are fair and reasonable.”
Trump contended that he should not be required to pay this amount due to a Supreme Court decision that broadened the scope of presidential immunity. His legal team also requested a retrial.
The $83.3 million defamation judgment was awarded by a civil jury in response to Trump’s ongoing attacks against Carroll, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store during the 1990s.
Last year, a Manhattan civil jury had handed down an $88.3 million judgment following a trial that focused on Trump’s repeated social media attacks on Carroll. This verdict followed a separate trial in which Trump was found liable for sexual assault against Carroll and was ordered to pay $5 million. This ruling was upheld by the appeals court last December.
In her statements, Carroll recounted how a brief encounter with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in 1996 began with flirting but escalated into a violent confrontation in a fitting room. She described how Trump pushed her against the fitting room wall, pulled down her tight skirt, and pinned her down with his body.
The jury concluded that Trump was responsible for sexual assault, but determined that he did not commit rape as defined by New York state law.
Trump has consistently denied the incident, accusing Carroll of fabricating the story to promote her book. He also stated that Carroll is “not my type.