On January 26, 2024, a federal jury in New York City decided that former President Donald Trump must pay former journalist and writer E. Jean Carroll $83 million for harming her reputation and causing her emotional distress. The January 26, 2024 verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Ms. Carroll millions of dollars in damages against Mr. Trump. (See our blog post about Ms. Carroll obtaining a prior $5.6 million verdict in May of 2023 against Mr. Trump for allegedly sexually abusing her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s and for defamation. That case focused on comments Mr. Trump made about Ms. Carroll in 2022 when he denied the abuse and called Ms. Carroll’s claim a “con job” and “hoax.”).
Ms. Carroll second defamation case against Mr. Trump centered on different comments Mr. Trump made in 2019 when he was the President of the United States denying the sexual abuse allegations by Ms. Carroll. After the first verdict in May of 2023, Mr. Trump made additional statements about Ms. Carroll denying the allegations and said “he did not know her.” Prior to the jurors’ deliberations, the federal judge in the second trial ruled that Mr. Trump’s statements were defamatory.
The jury, which was composed of nine people, deliberated for three hours before deciding on damages. They decided Trump must pay:
- $11 million for harming her reputation
- $7.3 million for emotional distress
- $65 million in punitive damages
The largest sum he must pay, $65 million, is meant to punish and deter Mr. Trump from engaging in similar behavior.
Ms. Carroll left the courtroom shortly after the verdict was announced and did not speak with reporters immediately after leaving. Some time later, she issued a statement through her publicist stating that, “This is a great victor 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.”
Mr. Trump vowed to appeal the verdict stating that he was upset with the decision and that he would challenge it in court, alleging that his statements about Ms. Carroll fall under free speech. Mr. Trump filed his appeal in March of 2024, and posted a bond of nearly $92 million to stay the enforcement of the judgement during the appeal.