The jury in the civil trial against former President Donald Trump told the court Tuesday that it has reached a verdict in his case on the question of the sexual assault and rape he allegedly committed against a woman. Shortly thereafter, the jury ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages to the sexual assault complainant, but did not accept her claim that she had been raped.
The woman, E. Jean Carroll, sued him, alleging that he raped and sexually assaulted her and later libeled her by falsely accusing her.
During the seven-day trial in Manhattan this month, Carroll, 79, said Trump raped her in the locker area of a Manhattan department store called Bergdorf Goodman in the 90s and then waged a smear campaign against her by discrediting her claim with online posts in 2022 in which he claimed she was a "crook."
The jury — six members and three women — could not determine whether he was innocent or guilty at the criminal level because he had not been charged. But a verdict of guilty or innocent at the civil level allows the judge to impose heavy fines on him. Also, the burden of proof in a civil trial is lower.
At the same time, Trump is facing trial in a New York court over fraud he allegedly committed to conceal his affair with actress Stormy Daniels. The offenses in this criminal case include false reporting in corporate documents and making a prohibited donation because he used his lawyer to pay silence fees with the intent to help him in his 2016 election campaign, thereby allegedly violating federal election laws and New York State financial reporting laws.
Trump could be sent to anyone if found guilty in a criminal trial, which is only in its early stages. Trump became the first president to be indicted and was arrested when he appeared a few weeks ago to read the indictment at the same trial.
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