Trump is found guilty of defaming Carroll: he will have to pay him more than $83 million

A Manhattan federal court jury determined on Friday that former President Donald Trump has to pay Elisabeth Jean Carroll a total of 83.3 million dollars (76.7 million euros) in damages within the defamation lawsuit brought by the writer.

In terms of compensatory damages, the tycoon is required to pay 18.3 million dollars (16.8 million euros), with 11 million dollars (10.1 million euros) allocated for a reputation repair campaign and another 7.3 million dollars (6.7 million euros) for emotional distress caused by his statements. Additionally, he will have to pay 65 million in punitive damages (59.8 million euros).

Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding over the case, expressed his gratitude to the jury for their diligent work in arriving at the verdict. “I advise you to never disclose your participation as members of this jury,” he emphasized, as reported by CNN.

In response, the former president took to the social networking platform Truth Social to dismiss the verdict as “absolutely ridiculous,” attributing it to a “witch hunt” orchestrated by President Joe Biden. “Our legal system is completely out of control and being exploited as a political weapon,” he stated, expressing his intention to appeal the decision.

In May, a court established that Trump must pay up to $5 million (approximately €4.6 million) in compensation to Carroll, who subsequently filed a new lawsuit seeking $10 million (€9.2 million) in damages.

The case revolves around the journalist’s legal challenge filed in 2019 against the former president for defamation, as he had denied her initial rape allegation, stating, “she was not my type,” and claiming that she fabricated the story to promote her book.

In her book, “Why Do We Need Men?”, the journalist recounted that the magnate sexually assaulted her in the changing rooms of a Manhattan store in the mid-90s. She claimed to have met Trump on Fifth Avenue in New York, after which they visited the lingerie department at Bergdorf Goodman, a high-end department store, where the alleged rape took place.

This trial coincides with Trump’s renewed efforts to return to the White House, as he faces additional legal proceedings, including recent charges related to the concealment of bribes paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual affair.