Former President Trump Found Guilty of a Sexual Assault Case
POSTED May 24, 2023
On May 10, 2023, former President Donald J. Trump was found guilty in a sexual abuse and defamation case. Even though the woman accused Trump of raping her, the jury only found him guilty of sexual abuse. The woman is E. Jean Carroll, an American journalist for Elle magazine. The Manhattan Federal jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll five million dollars. What were the allegations made by Carroll against Trump? And what will this mean for his future in politics?
Last November, E. Jean Carroll filed a lawsuit against the former president over an incident that took place back in 1996. She filed it under the “New York State Adult Survivors Act”, which extends the statute of limitations for cases such as this. She had this to say about filing the case so many years later: “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try to get my life back,” she said during the testimony.
During Carroll’s testimony, she shared the events surrounding the alleged rape. She told the jury that he had asked her to help him get a present for a female friend. They ended up in the lingerie section of the store Bergdof’s in New York. Then, according to Carroll, he ushered her into a dressing room and raped her. When Carroll spoke up about this incident, Trump denied all of her claims, leading to the defamation charge.
Trump didn’t attend this court case and claimed to not know Carroll. Despite his absence from the courtroom, the jury ruled in Carrol’s favor, but, the charge was changed from rape to sexual assault. Even so, Carroll won, earning five million dollars for battery and defamation.
Because of Trump’s political past and his goal to become president again, some people question his political future. Trump’s presidential campaign team believes Trump still has a future in politics. Back in 2016 when Trump was running for the first time, he faced some civil cases over Trump University. Because this recent trial was also a civil case, it may not affect his campaign.
Now, even with the trial over, Trump is still struggling with many legal troubles. He has been indicted on 34 counts, spanning from attempts to overturn the 2020 election to paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, whom he allegedly had an affair with. Even so, Trump’s team is determined to resolve these legal issues. They are not backing down. A spokesperson for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign said “Make no mistake, this entire bogus case is a political endeavor targeting President Trump because he is now an overwhelming front-runner to be once again elected President of the United States.”
Credit:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65531098
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/09/trump-rape-defamation-trial-jury-gets-instructions-from-judge-.html
https://newrepublic.com/post/172848/mark-calendars-next-big-trump-indictment
Photo Credit: