3 months ago
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Image source, Reuters
Donald Trump gestures to his supporters as he heads to court on Friday morning
By Brandon Livesay and Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court in New York
Former President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay $83m (£65m) for defaming columnist E Jean Carroll in 2019 while he was president.
Mr Trump was already found to have defamed Ms Carroll and to have sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.
The New York jury's penalty comprises $18.3m for compensatory damages and $65m in punitive damages.
Mr Trump took the stand on Thursday for a short testimony, and on Friday stormed out during closing arguments.
The compensatory damages are meant to account for the harm his comments did to her reputation and emotional wellbeing.
The jury was also asked to decide whether Mr Trump "acted maliciously, out of hatred, ill will, or spite, vindictively, or in wanton, reckless or wilful disregard of Ms Carroll's rights".
The panel also had to come up with a punitive penalty intended to stop Mr Trump from continuing to speak out against her.
He has continued to regularly deny any wrongdoing, or even that he has ever met Ms Carroll.
A civil trial last year found Mr Trump had sexually assaulted Ms Carroll, a magazine columnist, in a New York department store in the 1990s.
That jury also found him liable of defamation for calling her accusations a lie - and he was ordered to pay her about $5m in damages.
This case was focused on different defamatory comments made by Mr Trump in 2019.
Ms Carroll's lawyers had asked for $24m in compensation damages - made up of $12m for reputational harm and $12m for emotional harm.
This was more money than they had asked for in the first trial because Ms Carroll argued that his comments as a sitting president hurt her more.
As the jury's decision was read in court Ms Carroll was seen hugging her attorneys.
Mr Trump, who abruptly left court earlier, did not return to hear the trial's conclusion. The judge had warned earlier that "we will have no outbursts".
During closing arguments earlier on Friday, a lawyer for Ms Carroll told the court that her reputation had been severely harmed by the former president's comments denying he sexually assaulted her.
"This case is also about punishing Donald Trump... This trial is about getting him to stop once and for all," she said.
Mr Trump has continued to claim he never met Ms Carroll - including on Friday morning on social media before court.
After the ruling, he vowed to appeal, posting of the verdict: "Absolutely ridiculous!"
"I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party.
"Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!"
Mr Trump's various legal cases have become intertwined with his re-election campaign.
He is the frontrunner to become the Republican party's White House nominee for a third time.
