An emotional E Jean Carroll broke down in tears and hugged her lawyers in court on Friday as she was awarded $83.3 million in her defamation trial against Donald Trump – $60 million more than she had requested.
The 80-year-old writer held hands with her attorneys, who were sat either side of her, before the verdict was read out.
She sued Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her, and denying her rape allegations.
Last year a jury found that Carroll proved Trump had sexually abused her in the late 1990s in the changing room of Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, and defamed her. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages in her civil trial.
He continued to hurl insults at her and call her a liar, so she sued him again for defamation. The case concluded on Friday, after the panel of seven men and two women deliberated for approximately two hours 45 minutes.
As the verdict was read out, Trump was en route to the airport, to fly to his next campaign rally in Nevada, having left the court at around 4pm when a decision was imminent.
Carroll, and her lawyers Roberta Kaplan and Shawn Crowley, glanced excitedly at each other as the judge queried what the ‘m’ on the jury’s verdict form signified.
‘Million,’ the foreman replied.
Carroll became teary after the jury foreman read out the decision.
She and her legal team then composed themselves as the judge wrapped up the proceedings – while Trump’s legal team looked stunned and stoney-faced.
E. Jean Carroll is seen on Friday leaving the court in Manhattan having won $83.3 million from Donald Trump
The well-known author hugged her lawyers as the verdict was read out
E. Jean Carroll is seen being comforted by her lawyers as the verdict was read out
Donald Trump is seen leaving the court before the verdict was announced
Trump is seen leaving Trump Tower on Friday to travel to the Manhattan courtroom
Once the judge dismissed the jury, Carroll, Kaplan and Crowley leaped up and shared a warm embrace in celebration of their victory.
They hugged for a few moments as they let the reality of their victory sink in before calmly leaving the courtroom.
While Trump’s lawyers Alina Habba and Michael Madaio silently slinked away following the verdict.
Trump reacted to the verdict on Truth Social and wrote: ‘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.
‘Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!’
Habba announced their intention to appeal the verdict in a statement outside the court.
She was asked if she now regretted representing Trump and defiantly responded: ‘No I am not having any second thoughts about representing President Trump.
‘He is leading in the polls and now you see what you get in New York.
‘But don’t get it twisted, I am so proud to stand with president Trump but I don’t stand with what I saw in that courtroom.’
E. Jean Carroll, in white, is seen with her friends and legal team leaving the court in Manhattan on Friday evening
Carroll did not speak outside the court, but smiled and waved to the throng of photographers
Habba then launched into an astonishing attack on Carroll and the court.
‘Before I walked into court, that judge decided that every single defense that President Trump had, we were not allowed to raise in front of a jury.
‘There was no proof. There was no dress, there was no DNA, my experts were denied. Two of them were denied to come in.
‘They didn’t let me bring up that Reid Hoffman funded Ms Kaplan.
Do you know what we got in there? That my witness who was her friend that said she was a ‘drug addict and the drug is herself’, that friend I found out in there was paid for by Ms Kaplan’s firm.
‘That is disgusting that is violation of everything I stand for and that’s why I stand with Trump.
‘That is why so many Americans are so proud that he running again and so excited to run to the ballot box.’
Donald Trump’s defense attorney Alina Habba said she was ‘proud’ to defend the former president as tore into the justice system following the $83.3million E. Jean Carroll verdict
‘I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state… and now we see what you get in New York,’ Habba told reporters as she left the court
‘I’m not having any second thoughts representing President Trump’, she told a journalist as she walked out of Manhattan Federal Court, moments after the damages were read out in court
Habba said she was ‘seeing a violation of our justice system.’
She continued: ‘Ladies and gentlemen you are not allowed to be stripped of every defense you have.
‘Guess what my client did, he took the stand and abided by the corrupt system that I have seen.
‘We will immediately appeal. We will set aside that ridiculous jury.
‘I just want to remind you all of one thing. I will continue with President Trump to fight for everybody’s first amendment right to speak.
‘Everybody’s right to defend themselves when they are wrongfully accused and to be able to say ‘I didn’t do it’.
‘And to double and triple and quadruple down on it and say ‘this is wrong’.’
Habba said that the jury was biased against Trump, who is widely reviled in his hometown.
‘We are in the state of New York, we are in a New York jury and that’s why seeing these witch hunts, these hoaxes as he calls them,’ she said.
‘This is another one in states where they know they’ll get jury’s like this.
‘It will not deter us, we will keep fight and we didn’t win today but we will win because the behavior I saw in there gave us the most perfect appeal.
‘We were stripped of every defense, every single defense before we walked in there.
‘I’m proud to stand with President Trump because he showed up, stood up, took the stand and faced the judge.’