A federal appeals court has upheld the $5m verdict against Donald Trump for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E Jean Carroll, marking a legal setback for the president-elect. The three-judge panel at the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected Trump’s arguments for a new trial, ruling that evidence including testimony from other accusers and the Access Hollywood tape was properly admitted.
The May 2023 verdict found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a New York department store dressing room in about 1996. The jury awarded $2.02m for sexual assault and $2.98m for defaming Carroll in an October 2022 social media post where he called her allegations a “hoax”. The appeals court said testimony from two other women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct helped establish “a repeated, idiosyncratic pattern of conduct” consistent with Carroll’s allegations.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement: “Both E Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the second circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.” Trump has consistently denied all allegations, claiming he never met Carroll and that she was “not my type”.
The ruling follows a separate $83.3m defamation verdict that Carroll won against Trump in January over his 2019 denials. Trump is appealing that verdict. The case is expected to continue even after Trump takes office for his second presidency on 20 January 2025, as the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 1997 that sitting presidents have no immunity from civil litigation over actions predating their official duties.
