A federal appeals court in New York has upheld a jury’s verdict finding President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming columnist E. Jean Carroll.
The decision maintains a $5 million damages award previously ordered by the lower court.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling on Thursday.
The three-judge panel affirmed a December 2023 decision that denied Trump’s request to overturn the jury’s findings.
Trump now has 90 days to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the appellate ruling. Until then, the financial judgment remains enforceable.
The jury’s original verdict in May 2023 awarded Carroll $2.02 million for sexual abuse and $2.98 million for defamation. However, the jurors did not find Trump liable for rape.
Carroll, now 81, accused Trump of sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan during the mid-1990s.
Trump has consistently denied the allegations, as the Conservative Brief reported.
Following the appeals court’s decision, Carroll reacted publicly on X, posting a celebratory message referencing the court’s ruling and saying goodbye to Trump.
In response, a Trump spokesperson condemned the decision, calling it “liberal lawfare.” The spokesperson accused Democrats of politicizing the legal system to target Trump.
The Trump team’s statement also claimed the Justice Department should take over Trump’s defense, arguing that Carroll’s defamation claims stemmed from official presidential conduct.
Last month, Trump also failed to convince the same appeals court to reconsider the $5 million award. That denial reaffirmed the jury’s original decision.
Prior to the latest appellate ruling, Carroll had suggested Trump might have influenced the jury’s decision had he testified during the civil trial.
During a joint livestream on Substack with former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance, Carroll speculated that Trump could have swayed at least one juror in his favor.
Carroll argued that Trump’s absence from the trial was strategic, influenced by his attorney, Joe Tacopina, who persuaded him not to appear in court.
Carroll further claimed that cross-examination by her lawyer, Robbie Kaplan, would have been difficult for Trump to endure had he taken the stand.
Despite her confidence in the case’s outcome, Carroll acknowledged that the jury’s composition might have allowed for a different result if Trump had testified.
She pointed out that several jurors came from upstate New York, including Orange County, a region where Trump won support in the 2024 election.
Carroll emphasized that the jury was not composed of liberal Manhattan residents but rather from areas considered favorable to Trump.
She concluded that if Trump had sat through cross-examination and testified, he may have convinced one juror to block a unanimous verdict, potentially hanging the jury.
