President-elect Donald Trump has suffered a significant legal blow after a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s decision finding him liable in the E. Jean Carroll s*x abuse and defamation case.
The ruling, issued on Monday, confirmed the New York jury’s May verdict, which concluded that Trump s*xually assaulted Carroll in a Manhattan department store in 1996 and defamed her by calling her a liar, the Daily Mail reports.
The jury found Trump liable for both s*xual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll a total of $5 million in damages. The court also cited evidence, including Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape from 2016, where he boasted about his s*xual conduct, as part of the evidence supporting Carroll’s allegations.
The appeals court determined that Trump did not demonstrate any errors in the lower court’s decisions that could have impacted his substantial rights.
In its ruling, the appeals court emphasized that the case was grounded in “strong” evidence.
“Taking the record as a whole and considering the strength of Ms. Carroll’s case, we are not persuaded that any claimed error, or combination of errors, in the district court’s evidentiary rulings affected Mr. Trump’s substantial rights,” it stated, per the outlet.
Trump, who has long dismissed the case as a politically motivated “witch hunt,” criticized the initial verdict, calling it a “disgrace.” His legal team has already signaled plans to continue fighting the decision. In addition to the civil case concerning the s*xual abuse and defamation charges, Trump is also appealing another ruling, which resulted in him being ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million for defamation.
Trump’s legal troubles have been mounting since his presidency. Despite his appeals, legal battles are expected to continue throughout his political career. His efforts to overturn the May 2023 decision have already been heard in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where his attorneys presented arguments in September.
The case was marked by dramatic moments, such as Trump’s first appearance in court following an assassination attempt in July. Security was tight and Trump passed Carroll without acknowledging her during his court appearance.
Trump’s attorneys have argued that the jury’s decision was flawed due to the inclusion of evidence, such as the “Access Hollywood” tape and testimonies from two women who also accused Trump of s*xual misconduct. His lawyer, John Sauer, called the case a “textbook example of implausible allegations” being propped up by inadmissible evidence.
However, Carroll’s legal team defended the use of the “Access Hollywood” tape and other testimony, arguing that it was relevant to establish a pattern of behavior consistent with Carroll’s allegations. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, reiterated that the incidents involving Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who also accused Trump of misconduct, were admissible under the law.
Following the May trial, jurors awarded Carroll $2.02 million for the s*xual abuse claim and $2.98 million for the defamation charge. Trump has continuously denied the allegations, claiming he never met Carroll and accusing her of fabricating her story to promote her memoir.
