Updated May 11, 2023 - Politics & Policy

Trump appeals jury's verdict in E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit

Former President Trump in Manchester, New Hampshire, in April 2023.

Former President Trump in Manchester, New Hampshire, in April 2023. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Former President Trump on Thursday appealed a New York jury's decision this week to hold him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in writer E. Jean Carroll's civil suit against him.

Why it matters: Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, had been expected to appeal after the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, and he has publicly mocked her since the lawsuit loss.

  • The case will now move to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after the appeal.
  • At least 26 women, including Carroll, have made public allegations of sexual misconduct or assault against Trump over the years, but only a few resulted in litigation and only Carroll's has gone to trial.
  • Trump has denied the allegations against him.

Driving the news: On Tuesday, the jury did not determine that Trump raped Carroll, as she alleged, but it did find that he sexually assaulted Carroll in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in 1996. It also found he defamed her when he called her allegations "a complete con job" and "a Hoax and a lie" in 2022.

  • Trump publicly ridiculed the trial, which started April 25, and Carroll, during a CNN town hall event on Wednesday.
  • During the televised event, Trump called Carroll a "whack job" and called her allegations "fake" and "made up."

Carroll's counsel, Roberta Kaplan, did not respond to Axios' request for comment on the appeal.

The big picture: Carroll and Kaplan have said they are considering a new defamation lawsuit against Trump over the claims at the townhall event, according to the New York Times.

  • It would be Carroll's third defamation lawsuit against Trump.
  • In the other pending suit, Trump has argued he can't be sued because he made the statements at issue while he was president.

Go deeper: #MeToo's legacy lives on in the E. Jean Carroll verdict

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.

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