President-elect Donald Trump is not entitled to a new trial in the case in which a jury found him guilty Liable for sexual exploitation and defamation A federal appeals court ruled Monday in the case of author E. Jean Carroll.
The court completely rejected claims by Trump and his lawyers that the judge presiding over the trial made several decisions that harmed Trump's standing with the jury.
In May 2023, the jury unanimously concluded that a preponderance of the evidence supported Carroll's claim that Trump sexually assaulted her during an encounter in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, prompting Trump to seek a new trial. Asked for. Monday's 77-page ruling rejected repeated complaints by Trump before, during and after the nine-day trial.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York, found that District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan did not err in allowing testimony from two women who made claims about alleged encounters with Trump that were similar to Carroll's. Were.
“Putting his shoulders and the full weight of his body on her, Mr. Trump pinned her against the wall, kissed her, pulled down her panties, and inserted his fingers into her vagina – until Ms. Carroll managed to kneel. “Push her away from you,” the appeals court wrote, summarizing the evidence and testimony of Carroll's claim.
Carroll said she and Trump ran into each other by chance while shopping at Bergdorf Goodman. She alleged that what started as a pleasant stroll in the shop – including her helping him choose a gift for another woman while they engaged in banter – turned violent in the changing room.
Trump has vehemently denied Carroll's allegations, and vowed to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. He has also appealed against the January 2024 trial verdict which found him liable for more defamation against Carroll. That appeal is still pending. The juries in both cases jointly awarded Carroll over $88 million,
Trump's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan thanked the appeals court for “careful consideration of the parties' arguments” in a statement to CBS News.
“E. Jean Carroll and I are both satisfied with today's decision,” said Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge.
One of Trump's complaints about the trial was that jurors “reach hollywood,” in which Trump can be heard describing grabbing women's genitals. The clip was widely shared during the 2016 presidential race. The court found that Lewis Kaplan had given permission to show that video. Didn't commit any mistake by giving.
Carroll's federal civil lawsuit claims rape, sexual assault and defamation as defined by New York's penal code. The jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation, but rejected the rape claim, which requires proof of forcible penetration involving the attacker's genitals under New York law.
Judge wrote later New York's penal code is out of touch with federal standards and the “modern” understanding of what rape is. In post-trial rulings, he wrote that Carroll's claims that Trump raped her were “substantially true.”
Lewis Kaplan wrote in July 2023, “The definition of rape in New York penal law is much narrower than the meaning of 'rape' in common modern parlance, as defined in some dictionaries, some federal and state criminal statutes, and elsewhere.”
The jury “clearly found that Mr. Trump had indeed digitally raped Ms. Carroll,” Lewis Kaplan wrote.