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E. Jean Carroll says jury decision is "a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down"
From CNN’s Kara Scannell
E. Jean Carroll praised her legal team and called the jury’s decision “a huge defeat" for anyone who has tried to keep down women.
“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 the statement Friday evening.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, called the decision proof that the rule of law applies to everyone.
“Today’s verdict proves that the law applies to everyone in our country, even the rich, even the famous, even former presidents,” Kaplan said in a statement.
“There is a way to stand up to someone like Donald Trump, who cares more about wealth, fame and power than respecting the law,” Kaplan added. “Standing up to a bully takes courage and bravery; it takes someone like E. Jean Carroll. We thank the jury for standing up for E. Jean and the rule of law.”
Some background: The verdict, awarding Carroll $83.3 million, was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.
But this verdict was on a whole different scale – awarding $65 million in punitive damages alone and a total dollar figure eight times higher than what Carroll initially sought in her lawsuit.
Haley calls out Trump for facing $83 million in damages in Carroll defamation case
From CNN's Ebony Davis
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Friday reacted to the $83.3 million jury verdict against Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial.
“Donald Trump wants to be the presumptive Republican nominee and we’re talking about $83 million in damages. We’re not talking about fixing the border. We’re not talking about tackling inflation. America can do better than Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Haley said in aposton X.
The verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.
Biden sticks to strategy of saying nothing on Trump legal cases after E. Jean Carroll decision
From CNN's Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein
President Joe Biden’s campaign and the White House have declined to comment after a Manhattan federal jury decided former President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for public statements he made in 2019 disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.
It’s similar to the approach his team has taken with Trump’s other legal cases, staying quiet to avoid any perception of political interference. They’ve shown no signs of shifting from that approach even as Biden has ramped up his criticism of his predecessor on the campaign trail.
It highlights the careful balancing act Biden faces as he tries to paint Trump as an unfit leader and threat to democracy while avoiding specifically mentioning the legal cases that will be front and center in this year’s election.
Biden surrogates: But Senator Chris Coons, one of Biden’s top allies and campaign co-chair did weigh in, saying the punitive damages in the civil case reflect the nature of Trump’s conduct.
Coons said Trump “learned nothing" after a May 2023 verdict that found Trump guilty of sexual abuse. He said Trump “only continued to attack and defame her and as a result is going to pay record damages."
The Democratic senator said that "tells you something about his character and his conduct.”
Will Carroll ever see the money? Here are key takeaways from Trump's defamation trial
From CNN's Jeremy Herb,Lauren del ValleandKara Scannell
A jury said thatDonald Trumpshould pay $83.3 million in damages Friday, an eye-popping sum that marks the sharpest legal setback for a former president now entangled in multiple criminal and civil cases while he campaigns for the White House.
The verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded E. Jean Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.
Here are the key takeaways from the defamation trial and verdict:
- Another jury ruled against Trump: The nine-person jury awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages.Itwas the punitive damages, however,that landed Carroll such an astronomical sum: $65 million. During the trial, Carroll’s lawyers told the jury that Trump should be punished with a large number in damages so that it gets him to stop his defamatory behavior.
- Will Carroll ever see the money? There’s still a long road ahead before Carroll would see the money the jury awarded. Last year, the jury in the first defamation trial awarded Carroll a total of $5 million in damages after finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her in 2022. That verdict is still being appealed, and Trump within minutes of Friday’s verdict declared he will appeal this one as well. Trumpset aside $5.5 millionto a court-controlled account last year in a step toward satisfying the judgment from the defamation lawsuit, though, Carroll would not have access to the funds until after all appeals, including potentially to the US Supreme Court, are satisfied.
- Trump walked out of court: Carroll’s attorney was just minutes into her closing argument Friday when Trump got up and walked out of the courtroom. Trump remained outside of court until after the break and it was his attorney Alina Habba’s turn to make her case to the jury. The walkout was one last act of defiance for a former president during the defamation trial, after he was admonished at several points both for speaking audibly from the defense table and for going beyond the tightly controlled, three-minute testimony he was permitted to give on Thursday.
- Carroll proved to the jury she suffered harm from Trump's defamatory statements: It didn’t take the jury long to return a verdict against Trump, with deliberations lasting less than three hours. Carroll's attorney Shawn Crowley argued Trump’s statements about Carroll to this day are “dripping with malice, with hate." Trump’s attorney argued that Carroll would have received hateful messages when she wrote her story no matter what Trump said. The jury disagreed.
- Judge repeatedly admonished Trump's attorney: Judge Kaplan had little patience for Habba or Trump during Friday’s closing arguments, admonishing the former president’s lawyer repeatedly and at one point warning she could spend time “in the lock-up.” The judge’s annoyance with Trump’s attorneys is a pattern that has played out across his two fall civil trials where his lawyers have tried to push the envelope — and is one that’s likely to continue should any of Trump’s criminal cases head to trial this year.
Catch up on what else this verdict means for Trump.
Trump's team will "immediately appeal" $83.3 million verdict, lawyer says
From CNN's Rob Frehse
Donald Trump's legal team will "immediately appeal" the verdict issued by a jury ordering the former president to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages, one of his lawyers said Friday.
In remarks outside the courthouse, attorney Alina Habba brushed off what she called a “ridiculous jury” decision.
Habba also criticized the judge, saying he wasn't allowed any defense in front of the jury.
“We were stripped of every defense, every single defense before we walked in there and I am proud to stand with President Trump because he showed up, he stood up, he took the stand and he faced this judge,” Habba said.
Here's what happened in the courtroom before the verdict was read
From CNN’s Jeff Winter in the courtroom
Before Judge Lewis Kaplan entered the courtroom for the verdict, Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba hugged E. Jean Carroll's attorney Shawn Crowley.
Habba then spoke in a friendly manner with Crowley and Carroll’s other attorney Roberta Kaplan.Trump was not in the courtroom, having left in his motorcade at around 4 p.m. ET.
After the verdict sheet was given to the judge — but before it was read in full — the judge asked the jury foreperson, “What does the 'M' mean?”
The foreperson answered, “Million.”
Carroll and Kaplan held hands at their table as the verdict was read, with Kaplan on her right and Crowley on her left.
After the verdict was read, Carroll stood, holding hands with Crowley and Kaplan.
Afterward, the judge advised the jurors to never disclose they were on this jury.
Trumpblasts verdict: "Absolutely ridiculous!"
From CNN's Kate Sullivan
Former President Donald Trump on Friday blasted the verdict reached by a jury ordering him to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages and said he would appeal the decision.
Trump posted this on Truth Social:
"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!"
Carroll hugged her lawyers after the verdict was read
From CNN's Lauren del Valle
After the verdict was read Friday, E. Jean Carroll was in a group hug with her lawyers Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan – and then was in a receiving line hugging her other attorneys.
After adjourning, CNN producer Lauren del Valle heard an audible gasp that sounded like a sob as she hugged her attorneys, although she was not sure that gasp came from Carroll.
Everyone has left the courtroom.
Jury awards E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million from Trump for 2019 defamatory statements
From CNN’s Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell
Former President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 millionto writer E. Jean Carroll for public statements he made in 2019 disparaging Carroll and denying her rape allegations, a Manhattan federal jury determined Friday.
The jury found Trump should pay Carroll compensatory damages of $18.3 million —$11 millionto fund a reputational repair campaign and$7.3 millionfor the emotional harm caused by Trump’s 2019 public statements.
Trump should also pay$65 millionin punitive damages for acting maliciously in making the statements about Carroll, the jury found.
The total is more than eight times what Carroll asked for in her initial lawsuit.
Last May, a separate Manhattan federal jury awarded Carroll a total of $5 million in damages — including nearly $3 million for defamation — after they found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her in 2022 for public statements he made disparaging her and denying the allegations.
