00:00A federal appeals court has upheld an $83.3 million jury award against President Donald
00:07Trump in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. The ruling rejects Trump's
00:13argument that the damages were too high or that presidential immunity protects him from
00:18liability for statements he made about Carroll. The Second Circuit panel of judges found that
00:27Trump's public statements about Carroll put her at risk of harassment and threats. The court noted
00:33he questioned her credibility, suggested she had political or financial motives, and implied she
00:39would face serious consequences for speaking out. The judges wrote Trump's statements had a domino
00:46effect. Carroll was subjected to ongoing and prolific harassment as a result of these statements,
00:52including a multitude of death threats and other threats of physical injury.
00:58In a book memoir and during a 2023 trial, Carroll said she had an encounter with Trump at a store
01:04in New York in 1996. She claims Trump pushed her against a wall and forced himself on her in a
01:11dressing room, something Trump has denied and said Carroll made up to promote her book.
01:17A jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse but not rape under New York law and awarded Carroll
01:24$5 million. A second trial focused solely on damages for Trump's 2019 statements about Carroll's
01:32credibility while he was in office. And Monday's ruling upheld that larger defamation award of $83.3
01:39million. In a statement to the Associated Press, Trump's legal team called for
01:44an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all
01:52of the witch hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll hoaxes. Trump has signaled
01:59that he will likely ask the Supreme Court to review the case.
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