Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Writer E. Jean Carroll.
Gatekeepers News reports that Trump who was cleared of Carroll’s rape claim, will, however, pay damages of $5 million to her.
Carroll, 79, held her head down as the verdict was read in Manhattan federal court — and nodded when she heard the jury finding in favor of her defamation claim for Trump, 76, branding her a liar when she came forward with her allegations that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room in 1996.
The verdict could affect Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, as it is just one of many legal issues he is facing including a pending criminal case related to “hush money” payments.
The nine-person jury, three women and six men decided the case after three hours of deliberations that began just before noon Tuesday.
The former “Ask E. Jean” columnist nor her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, spoke to the mass of reporters outside the Lower Manhattan courthouse as they left hand in hand, through the crowd and into a waiting car.
Following this, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social “I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
Meanwhile, his attorney, Joe Tacopina, who spoke outside the court vowed to appeal the verdict.
“He’s firm in his belief, as many people are, that he can’t get a fair trial in New York City based on the jury pool,” Tacopina said of Trump. “I think one could argue that’s an accurate assessment based on what happened today.”
