Headline Roundup • May 9th, 2023
Jury Finds Donald Trump Sexually Abused, Defamed E. Jean Carroll
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A jury in New York found former President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation toward advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million.
Details: Carroll claimed Trump raped her in a department store in the 1990s. Trump denied the claim and declined to testify in the trial, but was deposed in a now-released video. The case also included a defamation lawsuit from Carroll, who claimed Trump defamed her reputation in 2022 when he deemed her allegations a “complete con job.” The jury determined Trump did not rape Carroll, but did sexually abuse her, another form of sexual battery, and that he defamed her. Trump stated his intention to appeal the decision.
Key Quotes: During her testimony, Carroll stated, “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back.” Following the jury announcement, Trump posted a message on Truth Social reading, “I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE - A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum prominently covered the trial’s conclusion on Tuesday. The Hill’s coverage noted that this is the “first time that Trump has been found liable for sexual misconduct at a trial.” The Associated Press stated that the verdict “could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A federal jury in New York City reached a decision Tuesday in the civil trial of advice columnist E. Jean Carroll vs. former President Donald Trump.
The jury decided that Trump was not liable for rape, but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The jury awarded Carroll at least $2 million.
The six men and three women on the jury began deliberating Tuesday morning on the ninth day of the civil trial, which took place in Manhattan federal court.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.
The verdict was announced in a federal courtroom in New York City on the first day of jury deliberations. Jurors rejected Carroll’s claims that she was raped, but found Trump liable for sexually abusing her.
Hours earlier, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan read instructions on the law to the nine-person jury...
Cillian Sherlock/PA via AP
A jury found that former President Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her by denying her claims, marking the first time that Trump has been found liable for sexual misconduct at a trial.
The nine-member jury found that Trump did not commit rape, but jurors found him liable for sexual abuse, another form of sexual battery, according to the Associated Press. He was also ordered to pay Carroll a total of $5 million in damages.
As a civil case, Carroll had to prove...
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