Donald Trump has been ordered by a jury to pay E. Jean Carroll a colossal $83.3 million for defamation after he publicly denied sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in 1996.
The staggering amount was three times what even Carroll’s own lawyers had asked for and was immediately lambasted by Trump as ‘absolutely ridiculous’. He vowed to appeal.
Trump had already left and was on his plane when the stunning verdict was returned, sparking an audible gasp in the courtroom.
Jurors at the court in Manhattan had deliberated for less than three hours following a two-week civil trial in which the former president testified for just three minutes.
The case centered on comments Trump made about Carroll after she accused him of attacking her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York nearly three decades ago.
Trump, 77, insists he has never met Carroll, 80, has consistently said she wasn’t his ‘type’, and has described the court case as a ‘witch hunt’ and ‘election interference’.
However, the jury of five men and four women ordered him to hand over $7.3 million for ’emotional harm’ to Carroll and $11 million for ‘reputational damages’.
Trump was also ordered to pay a whopping $65 million in ‘punitive damages’.
Carroll did not stop for interview but smiled and offered a wave as she climbed into a black SUV and left
Donald Trump has been ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll a staggering $83.3million
The jury concluded that Trump had acted out of ‘hatred, ill will, or spite’.
Carroll and her attorneys wiped away tears of joy and hugged each other as they left the courtroom arm-in-arm.
Outside, she was mobbed by media but did not stop for interviews, instead smiling and waving as she climbed into a black SUV and left.
Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, reacted on Truth Social slamming the verdict as ‘absolutely ridiculous!’ and confirmed he would appeal the decision.
He went on to label the verdict part of the ‘Biden Directed Witch Hunt’ and called the U.S. legal system ‘out of control’ and argued it was being used as a ‘political weapon’ to target him.
Trump said: ‘They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!’
Trump’s attorneys were hunched over in discussion as the verdict was read.
Outside court, his attorney Alina Habba said she is ‘so proud to stand with President Trump,’ despite the outcome.
‘Don’t get it twisted,’ Habba said in a fiery speech. ‘We are seeing a violation of our justice system, ladies and gentlemen.’
Judge Lewis Kaplan advised jurors to remain anonymous before dismissing them, saying ‘my advice to you is that you never disclose you were on this jury.’
Carroll and her attorneys stepped out of the courtroom arm-in-arm with big smiles on their faces
Trump, 77, insists he has never met Carroll, has consistently said she wasn’t his type and has described the court case as a ‘witch hunt’ and ‘election interference
The panel returned after the Manhattan courtroom erupted in chaos when Trump walked out after Carroll’s lawyer said the jury should punish him
Chaos erupted at the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial on Friday when Donald Trump stormed out of court and the judge warned his lawyer Alina Habba she was close to ‘spending time in lockup’
Donald Trump looks on as his lawyer Alina Habba gets involved in a heated exchange with Judge Lewis Kaplan while she delivers a closing argument at the court in Manhattan.
In this courtroom sketch, E Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan gives her summation to the jury in Manhattan federal court as former President Donald Trump, far left, and E. Jean Carroll, far right, listen
Earlier Friday, closing arguments were filled with drama, with Judge Kaplan threatening to ‘lock up’ Habba, Trump’s attorney, as she argued tenaciously for her client.
At one point Trump walked out after Carroll’s lawyer said the jury should punish him.
After Trump left Judge Kaplan said: ‘The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom.’
The former president returned an hour later and retook his seat to listen to Habba’s closing argument.
Evidence concluded shortly before lunchtime, with jurors then sent out to consider the case.
Trump appeared disinterested as Judge Kaplan read instructions to jurors, briefly looking up at the ceiling.
His decision to walk out had followed a blockbuster back-and-forth in which Habba and Judge Kaplan locked horns.
‘You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup,’ the judge warned Habba. ‘Sit down’.
He later told Habba: ‘You will not quarrel with me.’
The former president, 77, dramatically walked out when one of Carroll’s lawyers Roberta Kaplan said the jury should punish Trump and claimed ‘he thinks the rules don’t apply to him’
In her closing argument Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said Trump should pay her client ‘dearly’ for defaming her.
A civil jury last year found Trump liable for sexual abuse after Carroll, 80, claimed he attacked her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room.
Trump has since continued to vociferously deny having met Carroll. Her lawyers have accused Trump of unleashing a ‘storm of hate’ against her.
Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to Judge Kaplan, asked the jury to award $12 million for damages to her client’s reputation, another $12 million for the emotional harm caused, and more in punitive damages.
She told the court: ‘It will take an unusually high punitive damages award to stop Donald Trump. The one thing that Donald Trump cares about is money.
‘Now is the time to make him pay for it, and now is the time to make him pay dearly.’
‘The sexual assault happened – and Donald Trump’s denials and viscous accusations against her were all complete lies,’ she said.
The tense exchange between the judge and Habba was sparked by Trump’s lawyer trying to introduce a slide show of tweets that had not been entered into evidence.
‘You are not going to use a slide to represent how many tweets there were, you are not using that slide, period,’ Judge Kaplan said.
Habba arriving at Trump Tower before the dramatic court hearing. The former president, 77, dramatically walked out when one of Carroll’s lawyers said: ‘Donald J. Trump thinks the rules don’t apply to him’.
The tense exchange was sparked by Habba trying to introduce a slide show of tweets they hadn’t entered into evidence
Roberta Kaplan showed the jury social media messages in which her client had been threatened.
She said: ‘Imagine knowing all of these people hate you. All of them want you to be raped or killed.’
Habba, for Trump, responded: ‘President Trump has no more control over the thoughts and feelings of social media users than he does the weather.’
She added: ‘Ladies and gentleman, I received three this week alone. That’s me on a good day.’
Judge Kaplan called that comment ‘inappropriate’ and told the jury to ignore it.
Habba later added: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t about President Trump and E. Jean Carroll, this is about some people in their mothers’ basements who will always be mean on social media, you can’t stop that.’
While the case was going on Trump posted an extensive tirade on his Truth Social network, claiming he was being ‘extorted,’ that the proceedings were ‘unAmerican’ and the incident at the department store never happened.
He wrote: ‘I am the only one who has been injured by this attempted EXTORTION.
‘I have been considered an A-List celebrity for many decades…it would have been impossible for me to walk into a crowded department store (surrounded by buildings I own), right opposite the cashiers’ checkout desk, without being written about on Page Six, and every other outlet at the time.’
Earlier, Trump had waved to fans as he headed to court on Friday morning before the dramatic start to the hearing.
He left Trump Tower with Habba after the defense rested their case against Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist who accuses him of attacking her in a department store in the 1990s.
Trump is facing up to $10million in damages for defaming Carroll by claiming he never met her when she accused him of sexual assault
It followed a dramatic Thursday in court where Trump dramatically took the witness stand and testified for just three minutes
From the stand Trump told a civil jury he wanted to defend himself and ‘the presidency’ by calling out accusations that were ‘totally false’
Lawyers for E Jean Carroll (circled) released a portion of the former president’s interview in which he wrongly points to an image of his rape accuser and claims it is his wife
It followed a dramatic Thursday in court where Trump dramatically took the witness stand and testified for just three minutes.
Trump is potentially facing millions of dollar in damages for defaming Carroll by claiming he never met her when she accused him of sexual assault.
From the stand on Thursday Trump told the civil jury he wanted to defend himself and ‘the presidency’ by calling out accusations that were ‘totally false’.
Before giving evidence he was rebuked by the judge for speaking too loudly from his seat, and the judge then repeatedly cut him off during his testimony, making him stick to yes or no answers.
As he left court on Thursday Trump looked back at the packed courtroom, shook his head, and said: ‘This is not America. Not America. This is not America.’