Donald Trump lost “bigly” today as a Manhattan jury ordered him to pay $83.3 million to former columnist E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of sexual assault in the 1990s. Trump had already been found liable in a previous trial. This go-round was to determine compensatory and punitive damages to be paid to Carroll. https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1751009666916614547 From the New York Times:
Ms. Carroll’s lawyers had argued that a large award was necessary to stop Mr. Trump from continuing to attack her. The nine-member jury responded by awarding Ms. Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, finding that Mr. Trump had acted with malice.
On one recent day, he made more than 40 derisive posts about Ms. Carroll on his Truth Social website.
“This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she’s been knocked down and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down,” Ms. Carroll said in a statement, thanking her lawyers effusively.
The $83.3 million figure breaks down to $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. Trump, of course, has already promised to appeal. But it’s worth noting that in order to appeal, he must actually put the money in escrow or take out a bond with interest. He already had to scramble to put aside the $5.5 million in cash last year for the first defamation suit, which is on appeal, but this is a lot more. And keep in mind, he could be ordered to fork over $370 million in the New York fraud case in a matter of days. In a particularly delicious moment, Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, emphasized that the Donald could afford significant punitive damages, referencing a video deposition excerpt played for the jury in which he boasted that his brand alone was worth “maybe $10 billion.” https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1750997796486852670
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