The Supreme Court has left intact a civil jury verdict holding President Donald J. Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The Supreme Court declined to hear President Donald J. Trump’s appeal of a civil jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. The Monday morning decision upholds a $5 million judgment awarded to Carroll following a civil trial in 2023. 📺 DETAIL: The case centers on Carroll’s claim that Trump sexually abused her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, a claim he has consistently denied. Trump did not attend the trial, and his legal team called no witnesses. He argued in his appeal that the allegations were implausible, that the alleged incident had occurred around three decades ago in changing rooms that are usually locked and staffed, and that the trial judge erred in allowing certain evidence, such as the unsubstantiated allegations of two other women. Bizarrely, jurors found Trump not liable for rape, which was the main accusation against him, despite finding him liable for sexual abuse. 🎯 IMPACT: The Supreme Court’s decision may mark the end of Trump’s legal avenues to overturn the $5m judgment. Carroll has also won a separate defamation case against Trump, with an $83 million judgment, which he is also appealing. 📺 FLASHBACK: Carroll first made her allegations public in 2019, prompting Trump to deny the claims and accuse her of fabricating the story. She claims to have been attacked by a large number of men and boys over the years in separate incidents, including a childhood playmate, a babysitter’s boyfriend, a dentist, a camp counselor, an unnamed college date, an unnamed former boss, and former CBS chief executive Les Moonves. |
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