May 9, 2023

E. Jean Carroll was vindicated today after a New York civil jury determined that Donald Trump sexually abused her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. But he was also liable for her claim of defamation. The jury determined that Carroll should receive $5 million from the former President.

Law & Crime reports:

Carroll spent three days on the witness stand and called 10 other witnesses in service of her account that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. She said that she told two of her friends, writer Lisa Birnbach and local TV anchor Carol Martin, almost immediately. Both testified in Carroll’s support, as did two other women who accused the former president of sexual misconduct.

Trump did not present a defense case and declined repeated opportunities to testify.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen,” Carroll testified. “He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back.”

Trump responded in shouty caps on Truth Social:

"I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS," he screamed into the void. "THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE - A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!"

Trump's deposition was awful, full of misogyny and self-entitlement while dripping with disdain for women. The jury heard that.

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