E Jean Carroll says ‘the world finally knows the truth’ about Donald Trump

E Jean Carroll said the world “finally knows the truth” after a jury found Donald Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation and ordered him to pay nearly $5 million.

“We are very happy,” the beaming 79-year-old told reporters outside the courthouse before driving off in a black van Tuesday afternoon.

After hearing eight days of evidence, it took the jury just 2 1/2 hours to find Trump responsible for the 1996 sexual assault of Carroll in a dressing room of the upmarket Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan.

The jury found that Trump was not responsible for the rape, but that he should pay Carroll a total of nearly $5 million in damages for sexual assault and defamation.

In a statement issued after the verdict, Carroll said: “I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and get my life back. today the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not only for me, but for every woman who has suffered because they did not believe her”.

He expressed his “deep and enduring gratitude to all those who have supported me from the beginning,” singling out his legal team led by Roberta Kaplan “who has never, ever backed down from the search for truth and justice.”

Ms. Carroll spent nearly 13 hours on the witness stand, recounting the violent sexual assault in graphic detail. During cross-examination, defense attorney Joe Tacopina peppered her with questions about why she hadn’t screamed for help during the sexual assault.

As the verdict was read, Ms. Carroll sat emotionlessly in the front row with her attorneys, Ms. Kaplan and Shawn Crowley.

She nodded as Judge Lewis Kaplan thanked the jury for paying close attention to the evidence “even when it wasn’t fascinating.”

After the jury was brought out, he hugged Ms. Kaplan and Ms. Crowley. Mr. Tacopina came over and shook his hand and said “congratulations and good luck”.

In a statement, Ms Kaplan said the verdict showed that “no one was above the law.”

“For too long, sexual assault survivors faced a wall of doubt and intimidation. We hope and believe that today’s verdict will be an important step in breaking down that wall.

“E Jean Carroll has never wavered in her strength, courage and determination to seek justice. Donald Trump, on the other hand, didn’t even show up in court. This is a victory not only for E Jean Carroll, but also for democracy itself and for all survivors everywhere.”

Trump did not appear in court, but the jury played his statement and the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women.

His “grab them by the cunt” comments amounted to a “confession,” Ms Kaplan told the jury in closing statements Monday.

Ms Carroll “was exactly” Trump’s type and had sexually assaulted her in the same way he was caught describing his treatment of women on the infamous recording, Ms Kaplan added.

“In a real sense, Donald Trump is a witness against himself,” he said.

They also heard testimony from Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who are among more than two dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault and misconduct.

After the verdict, Judge Kaplan thanked the nine-person jury, which has been flown into the court amid tight security from undisclosed locations every day.

He advised them not to reveal their identities to anyone, “not now, not for a long time.”

In a tirade on his Truth Social social media site after the verdict, Trump repeated his false claims that he had no idea who Carroll was.

Speaking outside of court, Tacopina told reporters that Trump planned to appeal the verdict.

“He is firm in his belief that he cannot have a fair trial in New York,” Tacopina said.

Mrs. Carroll, it’s been a long time elle magazine advice columnist, first revealed the details of the sexual assault in an excerpt from a book that was published in NY magazine in June 2019.

Carroll testified that she and Trump had joked after a chance meeting at Bergdorf Goodman one night in the mid-1990s.

But after taking an escalator to a deserted sixth floor to search for lingerie, Trump took her to a dressing room, pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her.

“It was extremely painful,” Carroll told the jury. “He put his hand inside of me and curled his finger. As I sit here today, I can still feel it.”

Ms. Carroll added an assault charge under a recently adopted New York law that allows sexual assault survivors to sue their alleged attackers despite the statute of limitations.

She recounted how the traumatic experience had left her unable to pursue romantic relationships.

The writer said she would be inundated with a “wave of drool” on social media whenever Trump commented or posted about her allegations.

The jury awarded Ms. Carroll $2 million in compensatory damages and $20,000 in punitive damages for the assault charge. They awarded $1 million in compensatory damages for the defamation and $1.7 million to repair her reputation. The jury awarded another $280,000 in punitive damages for the defamation.