By Our Reporter
A U.S. appeals court has upheld an $83.3 million judgment against former President Donald Trump for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, whom a jury previously found he sexually assaulted.
The penalty, delivered in January 2024, includes $65 million in punitive damages, $7.3 million in compensatory damages, and $11 million to help restore Carroll’s reputation after Trump repeatedly attacked her publicly.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the damages were justified, citing Trump’s persistent defamatory remarks despite earlier rulings.
Carroll, now 81, first accused Trump in 2019, prompting him to dismiss her claims by saying she was “not my type.” Jurors later viewed Trump’s 2022 deposition in which he mistakenly identified a photo of Carroll as his former wife Marla Maples, undercutting his defense.
In 2023, a separate jury had already found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a department store dressing room in the 1990s and for defaming her again in 2022.
The appeals court said the record showed Trump would not stop his attacks “unless he was subjected to a substantial financial penalty.” Trump did not testify in the trial but used the case to rally supporters while campaigning for a return to the White House.