A New York jury has asked former U.S. President Donald Trump to pay E Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defaming her in 2019 while he was still in office.
Gatekeepers News reports that the jury, when they decided on Friday, said the defamation award is to compensate the writer for the loss of credibility she suffered as a columnist after Trump publicly denied and challenged her accusations of sexual assault, calling her a liar.
Carroll was awarded $65 million in punitive damages, $11 million for the damage to her reputation, and another $7.3 million.
According to the judge’s ruling, Trump had defamed Carroll, the jury only had to decide how much Trump owed her and not if he was liable.
In 2023, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million for a separate instance of defamation and battery.
The decision was made after a jury found that the former president sexually abused the writer in a New York department store changing room 27 years ago.
The Trump 2024 campaign, while responding to the latest ruling, issued a statement labelling the trial a “political weapon”.
“Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” the statement quoted Trump as saying.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the legal cases he’s facing are orchestrated by allies of US President Joe Biden who he seeks to unseat in the November 2024 election.
