In May 2023, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1996 and defaming her when he called her a liar.
United States president-elect, Donald Trump’s appeal against a $5million jury verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s sex abuse and defamation case was rejected by a federal appeals court on Monday.
The court stated, “Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings.”
In May 2023, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1996 and defaming her when he called her a liar.
The jury, after three hours of deliberation, awarded Carroll $2.02 million for sexual abuse and $2.98 million for defamation.
Trump dismissed the case as the “greatest witch hunt of all time” and labelled the verdict a “disgrace.”
His legal team argued the trial court allowed inadmissible evidence, including the infamous Access Hollywood tape and testimony from women who alleged similar misconduct, Mail Online reports.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, defended the evidence, stating, “Trump has a pattern of attacking women, beginning with chatting them up before suddenly pouncing.”
In a second trial earlier this year, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million for further defamation, following his denial of knowing Carroll and dismissing her allegations by saying she was “not my type.”
Trump continues to deny all allegations, claiming the accusations were politically motivated. His attorneys argued he couldn’t receive a fair trial in New York and called the verdict a “miscarriage of justice.”
The appeals court decision comes as Trump prepares for his inauguration on January 20th, with unresolved legal challenges continuing to mount.