No sign Trump will be deterred – even by this huge sum
Make no mistake this is a staggering amount of money.
The breakdown of the whopping $83.3m was detailed in the jury’s verdict form.
E Jean Carroll has been awarded $7.3m in compensatory damages “outside of the reputation repair program” and $11m in compensatory damages for a “reputation repair program only”.
The bulk of the $83.3m comes from the jury’s conclusion that, in defaming her, Mr Trump acted “maliciously, out of hatred, ill will, spite, vindictively, in wonton, reckless or wilful disregard of Ms Carroll’s rights”.
For that, the jury, of seven men and two women, concluded he must pay her $65m in punitive damages.
The total represents more than eight times the figure Ms Carroll had asked for in her initial lawsuit.
As part of the original civil case last May, in which Mr Trump was found liable for the sexual assault of Ms Carroll in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, a jury awarded her $5m in damages.
The huge sum is an attempt to rein the former president in.
Ms Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, had told the court during proceedings that: “This case is also about punishing Donald Trump… This trial is about getting him to stop once and for all.”
It was a fiery trial, with Mr Trump leaving abruptly on a number of occasions.
On the last day, his lawyer, Alina Habba, tried to introduce new evidence. The judge dismissed it, adding: “Ms Habba, you are on the verge of spending some time in the lock-up, now sit down.”
There’s no sign Donald Trump will be deterred even by this huge sum. He knows his witch-hunt claims resonate deeply with his many supporters.
Across America, we have found his appeal remains strong. And he will expect that donations for him will pour in.
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