Jury finds Trump must pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll

 E. Jean Carroll is “overjoyed” and feels she got justice from the jury and court today, her attorney told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

She also told Cooper:

The post was updated with more of Roberta Kaplan’s remarks in her interview with Anderson Cooper.

E. Jean Carroll leaves court on Friday.

E. Jean Carroll praised her legal team and called the jury’s decision “a huge defeat” for anyone who has tried to keep down women.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, called the decision proof that the rule of law applies to everyone.

Some background: The verdict, awarding Carroll $83.3 million, was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.

But this verdict was on a whole different scale – awarding $65 million in punitive damages alone and a total dollar figure eight times higher than what Carroll initially sought in her lawsuit.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley greets people at a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, on January 18.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Friday reacted to the $83.3 million jury verdict against Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial.

The verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations. 

President Joe Biden’s campaign and the White House have declined to comment after a Manhattan federal jury decided former President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for public statements he made in 2019 disparaging her and denying her rape allegations. 

It’s similar to the approach his team has taken with Trump’s other legal cases, staying quiet to avoid any perception of political interference. They’ve shown no signs of shifting from that approach even as Biden has ramped up his criticism of his predecessor on the campaign trail. 

It highlights the careful balancing act Biden faces as he tries to paint Trump as an unfit leader and threat to democracy while avoiding specifically mentioning the legal cases that will be front and center in this year’s election.  

Biden surrogates: But Senator Chris Coons, one of Biden’s top allies and campaign co-chair did weigh in, saying the punitive damages in the civil case reflect the nature of Trump’s conduct.

Coons said Trump “learned nothing” after a May 2023 verdict that found Trump guilty of sexual abuse. He said Trump “only continued to attack and defame her and as a result is going to pay record damages.”

The Democratic senator said that “tells you something about his character and his conduct.”

A jury said that Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million in damages Friday, an eye-popping sum that marks the sharpest legal setback for a former president now entangled in multiple criminal and civil cases while he campaigns for the White House.

The verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded E. Jean Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.

Here are the key takeaways from the defamation trial and verdict:

Catch up on what else this verdict means for Trump.

Alina Habba, Donald Trump's attorney, speaks outside the courthouse after the verdict on Friday.

Donald Trump’s legal team will “immediately appeal” the verdict issued by a jury ordering the former president to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages, one of his lawyers said Friday.

In remarks outside the courthouse, attorney Alina Habba brushed off what she called a “ridiculous jury” decision.

Habba also criticized the judge, saying he wasn’t allowed any defense in front of the jury.

Before Judge Lewis Kaplan entered the courtroom for the verdict, Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba hugged E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Shawn Crowley.

Habba then spoke in a friendly manner with Crowley and Carroll’s other attorney Roberta Kaplan. Trump was not in the courtroom, having left in his motorcade at around 4 p.m. ET.

After the verdict sheet was given to the judge — but before it was read in full — the judge asked the jury foreperson, “What does the ‘M’ mean?”

The foreperson answered, “Million.”

Carroll and Kaplan held hands at their table as the verdict was read, with Kaplan on her right and Crowley on her left.

After the verdict was read, Carroll stood, holding hands with Crowley and Kaplan.

Afterward, the judge advised the jurors to never disclose they were on this jury.

Former President Donald Trump on Friday blasted the verdict reached by a jury ordering him to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages and said he would appeal the decision. 

Trump posted this on Truth Social:

E. Jean Carroll hugs her team after the verdict was read Friday, in this courtroom sketch.

After the verdict was read Friday, E. Jean Carroll was in a group hug with her lawyers Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan – and then was in a receiving line hugging her other attorneys.

After adjourning, CNN producer Lauren del Valle heard an audible gasp that sounded like a sob as she hugged her attorneys, although she was not sure that gasp came from Carroll.

Everyone has left the courtroom.

E. Jean Carroll enters a car as she leaves the courthouse on Friday.

Former President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for public statements he made in 2019 disparaging Carroll and denying her rape allegations, a Manhattan federal jury determined Friday. 

The jury found Trump should pay Carroll compensatory damages of $18.3 million — $11 million to fund a reputational repair campaign and $7.3 million for the emotional harm caused by Trump’s 2019 public statements.

Trump should also pay $65 million in punitive damages for acting maliciously in making the statements about Carroll, the jury found.

The total is more than eight times what Carroll asked for in her initial lawsuit.

Last May, a separate Manhattan federal jury awarded Carroll a total of $5 million in damages — including nearly $3 million for defamation — after they found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her in 2022 for public statements he made disparaging her and denying the allegations. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan thanked the jury for their service after the verdict was read.

Kaplan told the jurors they can speak publicly about serving on the jury but cannot reveal the identity of any other juror.

A jury in Manhattan federal court has reached a verdict in the civil defamation trial to determine how much in damages Donald Trump should pay E. Jean Carroll — if any — for defamatory public statements he made about the writer in 2019, according to a court official.

The panel of seven men and two women deliberated for approximately 2 hours 45 minutes today.

During her closing argument, Carroll’s attorney said the writer deserves at least $24 million in damages. 

 The verdict will be read in court shortly. 

Trump will not be in the courtroom as he departed the courthouse in his motorcade around 4 p.m. He is not required to be present in court. 

 The post has been updated with more details on the jury and the timeline. 

Former President Donald Trump departed the Manhattan federal courthouse around 4 p.m. ET with his motorcade.

The jury in the civil defamation case continues to deliberate the damages that Trump would owe E. Jean Carroll. Trump did not have to be present during the trial, but has attended most days of arguments.

Donald Trump looks on as his attorney Alina Habba delivers closing arguments on January 26, in this courtroom sketch.

E. Jean Carroll sat two rows in front of Donald Trump, with a monitor in between them on Friday morning as closing arguments got underway.

Three jurors wore masks. A blonde woman seated in the second row of the box was on the edge of her seat through most of the closing arguments by Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, and by Trump’s attorney Alina Habba. The juror to her right was chewing gum and was turned away from the podium. During the 3 1/2 hours he was in the courtroom, Trump mostly sat up in his chair with his elbows on the table.

The former president didn’t sit back until the judge was reading the instructions to the jury. After a 10-minute break, Trump returned to the defense table for Habba’s closing.

Habba was heated during her arguments – so close to the mic, and so loud that her voice was crackling through the sound system. Trump would glance over at her with an appreciative smirk. 

When Habba spoke about Carroll hanging her pants over her window for safety, seemingly mocking her by saying she didn’t call the cops but “she hung the pants” Trump smirked at Habba’s performance.

When it came time to read the instructions to the jury, Judge Lewis Kaplan had the courtroom locked. No one from the jury wanted to take a break. The instructions were the only time Trump sat back in his chair for an extended period. He stretched his back for a second. He took out some Tic Tacs and downed some.

The jury of nine now has the case after the judge overseeing Trump’s civil defamation trial has finished charging the jury with instructions.

Judge Lewis Kaplan told the jury that the jury system is the bedrock of our justice system. Reading from the US Constitution he started “we the people…”

He then told the jury they are playing a vital role in our constitutional system. “And that role dates back to the earliest days of our nation.”

The judge said that if the jury doesn’t have a verdict by 4:30 p.m., it must send a note to indicate they want to stay later.

Attorney Shawn Crowley speaks in court on January 26, in this courtroom sketch.

Former President Donald Trump remained in the courtroom during E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Shawn Crowley’s rebuttal, a change in behavior after he left in the middle of Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan’s closing argument earlier Friday.

Crowley concluded her rebuttal by saying essentially that Trump believes he is above the law.

Trump believes that “He gets to lie. He gets to threaten. He gets to ignore a jury verdict. He gets to defy the law and the rules of this courtroom,” Crowley said. “You saw how he behaved through this trial. Rules don’t apply to Donald Trump.”

“Ladies and gentleman, this isn’t a campaign rally. It’s not a press event. It’s a court of law and Miss Carroll’s life,” Crowley said. “Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. He defamed her. He is not the victim.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan is now giving instructions to the jury.

E. Jean Carroll attorney Shawn Crowley acknowledged that more people know Carroll now than they did in 2019 before she made the sexual assault allegations against then-President Donald Trump.

“When you make an allegation against a sitting president, and he uses his massive megaphone to go after you, more people are going to know who you are,” Crowley said.

She also has received support from many people, including “some celebrities,” Crowley said. That support does not overshadow the negative reputation she now has, her lawyer argued.

Trump’s statements about Carroll to this day are “dripping with malice, with hate,” Crowley said.

“When the president speaks, the world listens,” she said. “The hate mail, the threats that she’s gotten — they parrot Donald Trump’s words.” 

Crowley also pushed back on Trump’s defense argument that Carroll is happy and enjoys the attention she’s gotten.

“Those moments of joy do not mean that her life has been easy since June 2019. Far from it,” Crowley said.

E. Jean Carroll attorney Shawn Crowley began her rebuttal telling the jury they needed a reset because Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said so many untrue things during her closing.

“I’m going to follow the rules of the courtroom, a thing Mr. Trump and his lawyers do not seem to be able to do,” Crowley said, jabbing at Habba.

Crowley, in her rebuttal, said Trump’s defense is that Carroll knew what she was doing and she asked for it.

“Have we really not moved past that dated idea?” asked Crowley. “Ms. Carroll did not ask to be called a liar. She did not ask to be called ugly. She didn’t ask for death threats. She didn’t ask to be accused of lying.”

Crowley said Carroll came forward because “she thought it was finally time to speak publicly about what he” — extending her arm and pointing directly at Trump – “had done to her.”

“The law protects her from being defamed for telling the truth,” Crowley said. “And he’s still breaking the law literally to this day.”

Trump attorney Alina Habba told the jury that E. Jean Carroll’s allegations gave her back the lavish lifestyle she once lived.

Habba attempted to toe the line of denying Carroll’s allegations again, telling the jury that Trump has “consistently stated his position as is his American right.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan cut her off to again instruct the jury that they must accept that it’s been previously established by a prior jury that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll.

Habba responded, “Yes, it’s been established by a jury.”

“It is established, and you will not quarrel with me,” Kaplan responded, telling Habba to finish her presentation.

Habba moved on to criticize Carroll’s expert witness, professor Ashlee Humphreys, and has now ended her presentation.

Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba delivers closing arguments on January 26, in this courtroom sketch.

Trump attorney Alina Habba told the jury that E. Jean Carroll does not actually live in fear, pointing to texts she sent her friend Carol Martin that were shown to the jury.

“There are two versions of Ms. Carroll — the one which her friend knew and testified to, and the one that comes to court to get money from my client,” Habba said. “Which do you believe?” 

Habba said Trump does not condone the hateful messages sent to Carroll. “You heard him say he did not intend to hurt her,” she said, referring to his brief testimony on Wednesday.

The negative messages should be “universally condemned,” Habba said. “But President Trump should not have to pay for their threats. He does not condone them. He did not direct them. All he did was tell his truth.”

Carroll showed the jury the “mean tweets” she received and said her feelings were hurt, Habba said.

“She tugged on your heart strings,” Habba told the jurors. “I don’t blame her for one bit. My feelings would be hurt too. But that’s what happens when you’re a public figure.”