Donald Trump Ordered To Pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 Million, Carroll Says She Will Buy Something Trump 'Hates'
A New York jury of seven men and two women has ordered former President Donald Trump to pay former 'ELLE' columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defaming her after she accused him of sexual assault.
According to the Associated Press, Carroll, 80, claimed that a flirty encounter with Trump later resulted in a violent altercation that took place in a downtown Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1996.
She alleged Trump, 77, slammed her against the wall in a dressing room, pulled down her tights, and forced himself on her.
Trump wasn't found liable for rape, but was found liable for sexual abuse followed by defamation after he called Carroll a "whackjob" whom he had never met before.
Carroll was awarded $18.3 million in compensatory damages, plus $65 million in punitive damages. Trump has denied all charges against him.
"This is another scam, it's a political witch hunt... and somehow we're going to have to fight this stuff," Trump said in a public statement. "We cannot let our country go into this abyss."
The writer's lawyers posed the argument that Trump's continued denial of the allegations destroyed Carroll's reputation as a trustworthy journalist.
Carroll left the courtroom smiling on Friday, while Trump's motorcade left before closing arguments were made.
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"Absolutely ridiculous!" he said in a statement shortly afterward. "Our legal system is out of control, and being used as a political weapon."
"This is a great victory for every woman who stands up when she's been knocked down and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down," Carroll said in a statement.
Although Trump had left the courthouse abruptly, he sounded off in a post on Social Truth: "There is no longer Justice in America. Our Judicial System is Broken and Unfair!"
During an interview on 'Good Morning America' on Monday, Carroll said she would use her award to purchase "something Donald Trump hates."
She continued: "If it'll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that's my intent. Well, perhaps, a fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump."
E. Jean Carroll is a journalist, author, and advice columnist best known for her "Ask E. Jean" column in 'ELLE' magazine from 1993 to 2019. "Ask E. Jean" is the longest-running advice column in American publishing.
