A federal appeals court in New York confirmed on Monday the jury’s conclusion from a civil trial that Donald Trump sexually assaulted columnist E. Jean Carroll in the fitting room of a high-end department store during the 1990s. This ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the jury’s decision, which awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for defamation and sexual abuse.
Carroll, a prominent magazine writer, presented her testimony during a trial in 2023, describing how a seemingly friendly encounter with Trump in the spring of 1996 escalated into a violent incident in the store dressing area. Throughout the proceedings, Trump consistently denied the attack occurred and did not attend the trial. However, he provided brief testimony in a subsequent defamation trial this year, which led to an additional award of $83.3 million due to remarks made by Trump in 2019 following Carroll’s public allegations featured in her memoir.
The three-judge panel of the appeals court dismissed arguments from Trump’s legal team, which contended that Judge Lewis A. Kaplan’s decisions tainted the trial. These included allowing testimonies from two other women who accused Trump of similar sexual misconduct. The judge also permitted the jury to view the notorious “Access Hollywood” tape, which depicts Trump making degrading comments about women. The court noted in its ruling, “We conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings.” It further stated that Trump failed to prove that any alleged errors during the trial impacted his significant rights, which would justify a new trial.
In September, both Carroll, aged 81, and Trump, aged 78, were present for the oral arguments at the 2nd Circuit. A spokesperson for Trump stated that voters had granted him a clear mandate, urging for an immediate halt to what he called the political misuse of the judicial system and to pursue the dismissal of what he termed the “Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax.” Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, expressed gratitude for the court’s thorough evaluation of the arguments presented.
In May 2023, the initial jury determined that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and defamed her with comments made in October 2022, leading to the $5 million compensation. A different jury later awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million in January, resulting from remarks Trump made during his presidency, with the judge instructing the jury to accept the earlier finding of sexual abuse. The appeal related to this verdict has yet to be addressed.
Carroll testified in both trials about the consequences the allegations and Trump’s public statements had on her life and career as a columnist for Elle magazine, claiming they led to threats against her life and a fear of leaving her home in upstate New York. During the second trial, Trump testified for less than three minutes and could not contest the findings of the May jury, though he was visibly reactive in the courtroom, making various audible comments about the proceedings.
During the appeals arguments, Trump’s attorney, D. John Sauer, argued that witness testimonies regarding Carroll’s account of the 1996 incident were biased and should not have been included. He insisted that testimonies from two women testifying about similar experiences of abuse by Trump in the 1970s and 2005 should also have been excluded. Trump has consistently denied these allegations as well.
The 2nd Circuit noted that in all three instances, Trump engaged in casual conversations before suddenly acting aggressively towards the women, indicating a pattern of behavior. It highlighted that the “Access Hollywood” tape aligned with the testimonies concerning this pattern of misconduct.
As a policy, the source does not disclose the identities of those claiming sexual assault unless they have publicly identified themselves, as Carroll has.
