United States – Trump’s lawyers will petition a federal appeals court to reverse a $5 million jury verdict to hold Trump legally responsible for sexually assaulting and defamation a former stripper and a writer E.Jean Carroll of raping almost three decades ago.
Current Appeal Status
Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, plans to watch oral arguments in the second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. All the three judges who are members of bench that hears the appeal were nominated by presidents who are of the Democratic party.
Details of the Verdict
A civil court that was concluding its trial in New York in May 2023 found Trump guilty of sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll at a Bergdorf Goodman store and for defaming her in an October 2022 social media post where he dismissed her accusations as a ‘hoax. ’ The jury awarded her $2.2 million for assault and $2.98 million for defamation, as reported by Reuters.
In a separate case, another jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in January for defamation and outrage stemming from his June 2019 statements about her.
Trump has consistently denied the allegations, stating he has never met Carroll, that she is not his type, and that her accusations are false and part of a book promotion. He is also appealing the $83.3 million verdict.
Legal Controversies
Trump’s filings argue that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrongly allowed testimony from two other accusers, Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, during the first trial. He contends that Kaplan improperly admitted a 2005 “Access Hollywood” video and dismissed evidence suggesting Carroll’s lawsuit was politically motivated.
Other Legal Challenges
In addition to these civil cases, Trump faces ongoing criminal investigations. He has not yet been sentenced in a Manhattan state court regarding a hush-money scheme, though he was convicted in May of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to a porn star before the 2016 election, as reported by Reuters.