A federal appeals court has upheld a jury’s decision that President-elect Donald J. Trump sexually abused writer and alleged fabulist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Trump’s attempt to overturn last year’s highly dubious verdict, stating that he did not prove any error in the district court’s rulings.
“Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” the judicial panel wrote, adding the President-elect “…has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.”
The original jury found Trump liable for abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store dressing room but not liable for rape. It also found him liable for making defamatory statements about the writer in 2022. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages. In a second civil trial, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $83 million, a decision that Trump is currently appealing.
Trump’s lawyers argue that District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan made errors by allowing testimonies from Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who alleged that Trump also assaulted them. Trump denies these allegations. His lawyers further contend that Kaplan was wrong to admit portions of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump joked with Billy Bush about celebrities and women as evidence, as it merely served to denigrate his character.
However, the appellate court affirmed that the tape was admissible as evidence suggesting a supposed pattern of behavior. The court’s opinion stated that the jury could reasonably conclude from Trump’s recorded comments that he had previously acted without obtaining consent.
Carroll claimed her lawsuit was brought independently but later admitted she had received funding from Democrat megadonor and Epstein Island guest Reid Hoffman.
