Trump nemesis to spend £65.4m owed to her on ‘one thing he hates’

After a jury awarded columnist E Jean Carroll $83 million (£65.4m) over former President Donald Trump ‘s defamatory statements, she has vowed she is going to use the cash for “something Donald Trump hates”.

It took jurors lower than three hours on Friday to return a verdict that Trump ought to pay Ms Carroll greater than $83m in damages after the former President stormed out of the courtroom. The hefty sum of compensation was for defamatory statements made by the Republican presidential frontrunner in 2019, after she alleged Trump sexually assaulted her in 1996.

Now, following the three-week trial, she has stated she is going to be certain that the cash goes towards one thing that may make him uncomfortable. Speaking to George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America she defined: “If It’ll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that’s my intent.”

READ MORE: How Trump will afford $83million courtroom order amid confusion over ex-president internet value

She steered the concept that she would use the compensation to create a “fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.” The 2024 election hopeful has repeatedly denied the allegation made by Ms Carroll since 2019.

He attended 5 days of the defamation rial, which included giving his personal testimony to double down on his claims. On Friday, after the decision got here in, he vowed to attraction the consequence.

Ms Carroll spent 5 days in courtroom sitting simply ft from the person she accused of sexually assaulting her. But, she stated her fears main as much as the trial about interacting with the businessman disappeared as quickly because the trial started.

“It was like he was like nothing, like an emperor without clothes,” she defined. “All my terror leading up to it, and there he is. He’s just something in a suit.”

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A separate jury discovered final yr that Trump had sexually assaulted Ms Carrol and defamed her, awarding her $5 million (£3.9m) in damages. He didn’t make an look in final yr’s trial, however this yr, his in-person attendance drew consideration and interrupted the proceedings.

The former President was heard muttering defamatory statements inside earshot of the jury and brought on a scene when he walked out throughout the closing assertion of Ms Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. Ms Kaplan, nonetheless, stated Trump’s behaviour merely backed up the central argument to her case that Trump is “a bully who can’t follow the rules.”

Reflecting on the dramatic second Trump stormed out of the courtroom throughout closing arguments, Ms Kaplan stated: “I definitely thought we got a few more million dollars immediately… I was like, well that’s worth about $10 million”.

Trump’s exit from the courtroom got here simply minutes earlier than jurors left to deliberate. And a couple of hours after he stormed out, the jury got here again with a unanimous verdict, awarding Ms Carrol $83.3 million. When the jury left the courtroom, Ms Carroll and her attorneys have been recognizing holding arms and exchanging smiles with a number of the jurors.

“It made me burst into tears because they met my eyes for the first time,” Ms Carroll recalled about seeing the jurors. Ms Kaplan stated she is assured they’ll have the ability to accumulate the complete quantity, explaining Trump may both pay a bond or deposit the cash in full till he appeals.

“I’m pretty confident one way or the other,” she stated. “We might not get it right away. But one way or the other, he owns a lot of real estate. It can be sold. We will collect the judgement.”

In the times following the decision, Trump has not talked about Ms Carroll by title, however she is not assured that the previous president will maintain from making defamatory statements about her in future. Her lawyer stated “all options are on the table” if Trump does determine to defame her consumer once more.

“If we have to bring another case, we’ll bring another case. It’s just going to be more money,” stated Ms Kaplan. Following the decision, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to share his views on the result, branding it “absolutely ridiculous!”

“I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be applying this whole Biden directed witch hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” he wrote. “Our legal system is out of control, and being used as a political weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

President Joe Biden has no half within the case, which is simply one of many many Trump is dealing with as he continues on a path he hopes will lead him again to the White House. He later added: “There is no longer justice in America. Our judicial system is broken and unfair.”

Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, additionally protested the decision. She stated: “I’m not having any second thoughts about representing President Trump. It is the proudest thing I could ever do. What I’m having second thoughts about is the [law] license that I stand here with, that the people in there are supposed to have.”