A federal appeals court has dismissed an appeal by Donald Trump following a jury’s determination that he sexually abused and defamed author E. Jean Carroll.
In a notable civil trial in 2023, a jury found that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll in a Manhattan department store in 1996, subsequently awarding her $5 million in damages for both compensatory and punitive claims.
Trump contested the jury’s ruling, arguing that the trial judge made significant errors by allowing testimonies from women who claimed similar sexual assaults by him. He also criticized the inclusion of the infamous 2005 recording where he discussed kissing and groping women without their consent.
In a detailed 77-page ruling, a three-judge panel concluded that Trump failed to establish any error in the trial court’s decisions, noting that none of his claims compromised his “substantial rights” or justified a retrial.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, expressed satisfaction with the appellate decision, stating, “Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.”
In response, a spokesperson for Trump criticized the ruling, claiming it was a part of a broader political agenda against him, insisting on the need to end the perceived injustice against him.
In a separate legal matter, a 2024 New York state jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83 million, asserting that his defamatory statements damaged her credibility as a columnist.
