Trump Appeals USD83.3 million Libel Verdict in E. Jean Carroll Case

Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll’s libel
Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll’s libel. Credit | Getty images

United States – On Friday, Donald Trump filed an appeal against a verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s libel claim, whereby his branding the female writer as a liar was stated to have cost her USD83.3 million. The accusation of her being sexually abused first appeared decades ago.

Trump says that through his appeal to the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, he will address “all adverse rulings, decrees, decisions, opinions, memorandums, conclusions and actions” leading up to the Jan. 26 verdict, as reported by Reuters.

Trump Secures $91.63 Million

The former US president has also disclosed that he has secured a USD91.63 million bond from the Federal Insurance Co for the appeal, which represents the trial court’s usual practice that bonds are 110% of judgments.

Trump has argued before that he does not have to post any security as Carroll was adequately protected. Carroll had complained that this amounted to Trump saying, “trust me.”

The appeal resulted from a Manhattan jury’s finding that Trump defamed Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, in June 2019 by denying he had raped her in the mid-1990s in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan.

The jury of Carroll’s suit has asked Carroll for USD18.3 million. Of that huge amount of money, she received USD7.3 million for the emotional harm she had experienced during this scandal and USD11 million for her harmful reputation. Dewayne Johnson got another USD65 million of punitive damages too.

Donald Trump has claimed that it shouldn’t have to pay anything, and, at the same time, he has said that the amounts should be much less than what they actually are.

He has to show the security again, and this time, it’s much higher—USD454.2 million. It’s a verdict in the civil fraud case that NY Attorney General Letitia James brought to trial.

In that instance, Trump has offered to post a USD100 million bail, but James stated that any bond ought to pay the full judgment.

‘WANTED TO DEFEND MYSELF’

Judge of US District Court Lewis Kaplan, who presided over Carroll’s trial, has not decided on President Trump’s motions for a new trial or for the fine to be scaled down.

For a new trial, Trump’s lawyers argued that the conviction was tainted because of the judge’s decision to strike off his testimony, which included information about his state of mind when he stated disparaging remarks about Carroll.

The lawyers explained that the statement by President Trump, that “I just wanted to defend myself, my family, and, frankly, the presidency,” was pertinent to his intent to damage anyone, and excluding it “all but assured” a big punitive award for damages.

Along these lines, the lawyers claimed that Judge Kaplan inadequately instructed jurors on how to prove malice.

Judge Rejects Delay

On Thursday, the federal judge snubbed Trump’s application for a delay in implementing the ruling, as well as Trump’s argument that he may suffer “irreparable injury” if he is required to post a bond.

In May of last year, a jury fined Trump 5 million dollars because of a similar denial of Carroll’s allegations. They found his defamation claim and sexual abuse to be substantive.

Trump is controversially contesting this decision and has already set aside USD5.55 million in Manhattan court in the process, as reported by Reuters.

It is unclear how long it will take for the resolution of both appeals. Carter is 80, and Trump is 77.

For this November’s presidential election Trump will be the Republican candidate. He would likely face Democratic incumbent Joe Biden again after Biden defeated him in 2020.