Carroll declares Trump verdict in defamation case a ‘great victory’

by Steff Danielle Thomas - 01/26/24 7:02 PM ET

E. Jean Carroll leaves Federal court, Friday, Jan 26, 2024, in New York. A jury has awarded an additional $83.3 million to Carroll, who says former President Donald Trump damaged her reputation by calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Columnist E. Jean Carroll hailed a jury’s verdict Friday requiring former President Trump to pay her $83.3 million in damages for defamation after he repeatedly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted her at a department store in the 1990s.

“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 following the decision.

She also offered thanks to her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, for “this win.”

Kaplan echoed Carroll’s sentiments, saying the verdict proves that no one is above the law — “even the rich, even the famous, even former presidents.”

“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 said. “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.”

Friday’s verdict marks the second time the author has won damages from Trump. The former president was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million last year after he was found liable for sexually abusing her and lost a separate defamation case.

Broken down, the nine-person jury ordered Trump to pay $11 million for a reputational repair program, $7.3 million in other compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages.

Trump briefly took the stand Friday as the final witness in the trial, but stormed out of the courtroom during closing arguments, before the final verdict was read.

The former president, who has continued to deny the allegations, slammed the judge’s verdict in a post on his Truth Social platform and vowed to appeal the decision.

“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,” Trump wrote. “Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon.”

“They have taken away all First Amendment Rights,” he added. “THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

Because District Judge Lewis Kaplan had already ruled he defamed Carroll, the jury merely considered the issue of damages.