Former President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social to the verdict in the rape and defamation suit brought by E Jean Carroll.
Trump was found liable for defamation and battery, with Carroll to be awarded $5 million in damages. Trump was not found guilty of rape, however. Trump defended himself on Truth Social, maintaining he didn’t know who Carroll was.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 9, 2023
The Manhattan federal court jury deliberated Tuesday for less than three hours in the civil case. Carroll alleged in 2019 that Trump raped her in 1995 or 1996 in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman department store. Carroll sued him after he denied even knowing her and labeled her accusations a “hoax and lie.” (RELATED: Trump Scores Major Victory In Defamation Case)
Trump’s attorneys requested a mistrial but were denied by Judge Lewis Kaplan. The court prevented Trump’s attorney’s from questioning Carroll on if she tried to obtain surveillance footage from the store that would show Trump’s presence at the time of the alleged incident. Lawyer Joe Tacopina also argued the court expressed a corroborative view to the jury that no one was present on the store’s sixth floor when the rape allegedly occurred despite the claim being disputed.