Donald Trump must pay $83.3m to E. Jean Carroll in defamation case

A New York jury has ordered former Donald Trump to pay an additional $83.3 million to former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019 while he was US president.

In the defamation case, E. Jean Carroll says former President Donald Trump destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault.

The penalty of $18.3m came for compensatory damages while $65m in punitive damages.

The jury of seven men and two women delivered the verdict on Friday. Trump, who attended the trial regularly, left the courtroom abruptly during closing arguments by Carroll’s lawyer and later returned.

However, Trump vowed to appeal the latest ruling, calling the verdict “Absolutely ridiculous!”

In a reaction, Ms Carroll said it is a great victory for every woman and a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down.

Her attorney Robbie Kaplan said the verdict proves that the law applies to everyone in our country– even the rich, even the famous and even former presidents.

Last year, a civil trial found Trump sexually assaulted Ms Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the 1990s and found him liable of defamation for calling her accusations a lie.

The case focused on different defamatory comments by Trump in 2019.

Mr Trump was not present to hear the verdict as he abruptly left court earlier in the day with his Secret Service security detail.

Trump faces four criminal cases and is the first US president in history to be charged with a crime.

He has repeatedly claimed allies of US President Joe Biden are orchestrating the various legal charges brought against him.

Trump looks set for a rematch against Biden in the November 2024 general election as the Republican Party’s White House frontrunner.