A federal appeals court in the United States has upheld a jury’s decision requiring President-elect Donald Trump to pay $5 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll. The jury found that Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, following a civil trial last year.
The Case Against Trump
The New York jury ruled that Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll at a Manhattan department store in 1996. The jury awarded Carroll $2 million for the sexual abuse and an additional $3 million for defamation. Carroll had accused Trump of assaulting her decades ago, and she filed a lawsuit seeking damages.
Trump’s Appeal
Trump denied the allegations and appealed the verdict, arguing that the testimonies of two other women who accused him of sexual assault should not have been allowed in the case. However, the three-judge panel of the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with Trump’s argument.
Court’s Ruling
The appeals court panel concluded that Trump had failed to prove that the lower court had made errors in its rulings. They also stated that Trump had not shown that any alleged errors had significantly impacted his rights, thus making a new trial unnecessary.
Additional Legal Challenges for Trump
In a separate legal matter, E. Jean Carroll was awarded $83 million in another lawsuit against Trump, which the former president has also appealed. Trump is facing multiple legal challenges, including the dismissal of two federal cases brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith. These cases involved allegations of mishandling classified documents and attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. However, both cases were dropped under a Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Conviction in New York
In May, Trump was convicted in New York of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Judge Juan Merchan has rejected Trump’s bid to have the conviction overturned but has delayed sentencing indefinitely.
The appeals court’s decision to uphold the jury’s verdict is a significant development in the ongoing legal battles faced by President-elect Trump. While he continues to deny the allegations, these legal cases and their outcomes could have lasting implications on his future.
