Trump knocks judge, jury after being found liable for sexual battery, defamation

Former President Trump on Wednesday lashed out at the New York judge and jury that found him liable for sexual battery and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll in the civil trial that wrapped up Tuesday. 

“The partisan Judge & Jury on the just concluded Witch Hunt Trial should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for allowing such a travesty of Justice to take place,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

A jury found Trump sexually abused Carroll in the 1990s, and that he later defamed her when he denied her claims. They found he did not commit rape but ordered he pay Carroll $5 million in damages.

Trump argued in a separate post on that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, an appointee of former President Clinton, “hated President Donald J. Trump more than is humanly possible” and that “this case should never have been allowed to be tried in this completely partisan venue.” 

Trump echoed his oft-used refrain that he faces a “political Witch Hunt” as he battles both the new liability finding and other legal woes, such as criminal charges he faces in Manhattan. 

In a video message posted Tuesday night, Trump repeated claims that he doesn’t “even know who [Carroll] is” and said he’ll be appealing the decision. 

Trump and his supporters continue to push back on a number of legal entanglements surrounding the former president.

A recent ad paid for by the Make America Great Again, Inc. PAC features Trump’s troubles — from his two impeachments to an indictment for falsifying business records in Manhattan — framing the issues as obstacles in a “broken system.”