Donald Trump maintains his innocence in civil trial. The jury found him guilty of sexual assault. Bild: Kaplan Hecker & Fink
International
Former President Donald Trump has lost the civil case against E. Jean Carroll. With the verdict, Trump is being prosecuted for the first time for allegations of sexual violence. He has been accused of sexual misconduct, including rape, by around 20 women over the decades. He always rejected such allegations.
But this time he is found guilty. Watson summarizes what exactly happened and how Trump reacts to the verdict in five points.
What happened?
Former US President Donald Trump has been fined $5 million for sexual abuse and defamation of journalist E. Jean Carroll.
The nine jurors of a federal court in New York ruled that Trump “sexually abused” Carroll in 1996 and later defamed him. They deny the allegation of rape. Carroll speaks of a victory “for all women who have suffered because they were not believed”.
In this courtroom sketch, E. Jean Carroll, second from left, listens to Court Representative Andrew Mohan.Bild: FR142054 AP / Elizabeth Williams
What does E Jean Carroll say?
Elizabeth Jean Carroll is an American journalist and author. Carroll, now 79, accuses Trump of raping her in the dressing room of a luxury department store in New York in the spring of 1996.
The long-time columnist for Elle magazine only made her accusation public in 2019, when Trump was president. She was silent for so long because she was afraid that Trump could destroy her career.
E. Jean Carroll wins civil case against Trump.Image: IMAGO/UPI Photo / Louis Lanzano
What does Trump say?
Trump accused Carroll of lying and said she wasn’t his “type”. He apparently pleads innocent, as shown by the official tapes of Trump’s 2019 survey.
In one of these recordings he says:
“Actually, she implied that she liked it. She loved it. She loved it. Until the commercial break. It was sexy. It was very sexy to be raped. Didn’t she say that?”
In another recording, Trump is played his own statements that he made on the Access Hollywood tape. As a reminder, back then he said the infamous phrase: “Grab ’em by the pussy”. Trump is then asked about this statement that stars could simply grab women by the genitals.
His response: “Well, historically, stars have been like that. Well, if you look at the last million years, I guess that’s largely true. Not always, but largely. Unfortunately or fortunately.”
His statements could not convince the jury. Now Trump has been convicted of sexual assault and defamation. He himself had stayed away from the trial of his own accord, because he was not obliged to appear in court.
On his social media platform “Truth Social” he shares in capital letters: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace – a sequel to the greatest witch hunt of all time.”
Does Trump have to go to jail now?
Because it was a civil case and not a criminal case, Trump faces no jail time. But he has to dig deep into his pocket for that. After a little less than three hours of deliberations, the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages: $2 million for sexual abuse and $3 million for defamation.
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Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina has announced an appeal against the verdict. Among other things, he points out that Carroll has always accused Trump of rape – but the jury only recognized sexual abuse.
Trump has a lot of lawsuits to deal with
In a separate trial in New York at the end of March, the ex-president was charged with hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election on allegations of falsifying business records.
It was the first indictment against a former president in US history. The criminal trial is not scheduled to begin until next year. Trump pleaded not guilty in court.
Several other investigations are also underway against the ex-president. A US special counsel is investigating Trump’s responsibility for the January 6, 2021 Capitol storm and the taking of numerous classified documents from the White House to his private home Mar-a-Lago after the Republican’s term ended. Investigations are underway in southern Georgia into a possible attempt to illegally influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Probably a stressful time for Trump, after all, the 76-year-old Republican is currently running for the 2024 presidential election and wants to move back into the White House.
(With material from afp)
