E. Jean Carroll has emerged victorious against Donald Trump in two significant legal battles, and she remains optimistic about the outcome of his ongoing criminal hush money trial. This trial centers around the former president’s actions during the 2016 election campaign, where he is accused of falsifying business records to conceal payments made to silence two women who alleged they had sexual encounters with him.
These allegations are pivotal, as they are believed to have been aimed at influencing the election’s outcome. The jury now faces the monumental task of delivering a verdict that could mark a historic moment in American legal and political history.
“I think that it’s a New York jury, they’re the smartest in the world, with all political backgrounds,” she told TIME while appearing at the 2024 TIME100 in the city. “They will make the right decision.”
At 80 years old, Carroll, a former columnist for Elle magazine, has previously demonstrated her resilience and determination in the legal arena. She successfully proved in two separate trials that Trump defamed her following her public claims of being sexually assaulted by him in the 1990s in a Manhattan department store dressing room. These victories led to her being awarded nearly $100 million in damages.
Despite these legal setbacks, Trump, who is currently the presumptive Republican nominee for president, continues to maintain his innocence. He has denied all accusations of misconduct and has initiated appeals against the trial decisions. However, his efforts to secure a new trial were recently thwarted when a federal judge dismissed his request, affirming the substantial jury-awarded damages.
The legal proceedings have confirmed an $83.3 million damage award from the second ruling, consisting of $17.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. This award followed an initial $5 million in damages from the first trial, which a federal judge also upheld. These judicial decisions underscore the severity of Trump’s actions as perceived by the court.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, in his ruling, emphasized that the compensatory damages awarded to Carroll were not solely for emotional distress. He clarified that the damages were not for “garden variety harms” and were certainly not excessive. Kaplan pointed out that Trump’s “malicious and unceasing attacks” on Carroll reached an audience of over 100 million people, including public threats and personal attacks that significantly endangered her health and safety.
As the legal battles unfold, Carroll’s confidence in the jury’s ability to “meet the moment” reflects a broader expectation for accountability at the highest levels of power. The outcome of the hush money trial will not only potentially affirm the previous court decisions but also set a precedent regarding the accountability of public figures for their private actions, especially when those actions are alleged to affect public trust and electoral integrity.
