In a landmark ruling, former President Donald Trump has been found liable for sexual assault and defamation of E. Jean Carrol, a journalist and writer who had accused him of attacking her in the mid-1990s.
Following the verdict delivered by a New York City jury, Carrol was awarded a staggering $5 million in damages, signaling a significant victory for the #MeToo movement and a blow to Trump’s legal troubles.
However, the former president, known for his confrontational style, swiftly reacted to the verdict by denying any knowledge of Carrol, dismissing the trial as a witch hunt.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Trump said in a statement.
Carrol, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, had claimed in a 2019 book that Trump had sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, an allegation that Trump had vehemently denied.
The case had been in litigation for over two years, with Trump’s legal team unsuccessfully attempting to have the case dismissed, arguing that he was immune from lawsuits as a sitting president.
The verdict is expected to have significant political and legal implications for Trump, who has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct from several women over the years.
It remains to be seen how the former president will react to the ruling, which marks a significant turning point in the ongoing debate surrounding sexual assault and misconduct in the United States.