Appeals court upholds verdict finding Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll

Zach Schonfeld

30 December 2024 at 9:50 am·3-min read

A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld a jury’s verdict finding President-elect Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and ordering him to pay $5 million.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded Trump did not sufficiently show any claimed errors affected his rights or warranted a new trial.

“On review for abuse of discretion, we conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” the panel wrote in its unsigned opinion.

The New York jury found Trump liable last year for sexually abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and defaming her by denying her story when she came forward during Trump’s first presidency.

In a separate case, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in defamation damages for continuing to deny her story. Trump is still appealing that verdict, but Monday’s decision marks a blow in Trump’s defense, as it was underpinned by the earlier sexual abuse judgment.

“Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments,” Robbie Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said in a statement.

Trump is vowing to continue challenging the jury’s verdict. He could now ask the full appeals court to review Monday’s ruling or bring the case to the Supreme Court.

“The American People have re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax, which will continue to be appealed,” Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson set to become his White House communications director, said in a statement.

“We look forward to uniting our country in the new administration as President Trump makes America great again,” Cheung added.

Trump demanded he be given a new trial over allegations that the jury heard improper testimony and Trump was wrongly precluded from asking Carroll certain questions during cross-examination.

The panel rejected all those arguments, determining that testimony from two other women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct, and the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump is heard bragging about sexually grabbing women without their permission, was rightfully admitted as evidence.

Jessica Leeds, one of the women, testified that Trump kissed and groped her on an airplane in 1978 or 1979. The other woman, Natasha Stoynoff, testified that Trump pushed her against a wall and kissed her while she was assigned to a story for People magazine about the anniversary of Trump’s marriage to his wife, Melania, and the arrival of their son, Barron.

Trump denies both Stoynoff’s and Leeds’ accusations.

The appeals court panel wrote that the combination of the women’s testimony, plus the tape, showed that a jury could reasonably infer Trump “engaged in similar conduct with other women — a pattern of abrupt, nonconsensual, and physical advances on women he barely knew.”

“Mr. Trump’s statements in the tape, together with the testimony of Ms. Leeds and Ms. Stoynoff, establish a repeated, idiosyncratic pattern of conduct consistent with what Ms. Carroll alleged,” the panel wrote.

Carroll’s lawsuits against Trump loomed large amid his many legal woes, with the cases turning into some of his highest-profile civil trials.

Trump has repeatedly denied Carroll’s story and attacked her appearance. And earlier this month, the president-elect secured a $15 million settlement from ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos over the “This Week” host’s repeated mischaracterization of the verdict on air.

Updated at 10:50 a.m. EST

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