Trump loses appeal of Carroll's $5 million defamation verdict

A federal appeals court just rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a $5 million judgment in the E. Jean Carroll case. Last year, a jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room during the 1990s and later made false statements about her.

Trump’s lawyers tried to argue that the court shouldn’t have allowed two other women to testify that Trump had also sexually assaulted them. They also claimed the “Access Hollywood” recording, where Trump made crude comments about grabbing women, shouldn’t have been played at the trial. The appeals court disagreed with these arguments. They stated plainly: “Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings.”

Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, was pleased with the decision, saying: “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.”

According to Carroll’s testimony, she ran into Trump at the store where he asked for her help buying a gift for a female friend. They went to the lingerie department, where she says he pulled her into a dressing room and assaulted her. She managed to push him away and escape. She only told two friends at the time and kept quiet until 2019, when she revealed the incident in a magazine article.