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The former president of the United States was found guilty in Manhattan Federal Court, after a verdict reached in record time. Although they did not hold him responsible for the rape of the writer in the 1990s, they did do so for sexual abuse of her and for calling her a liar. This is a new legal setback for the Republican, a candidate for the party’s nomination for the presidential elections.
Donald Trump has been convicted of sexual assault and defamation against magazine writer E. Jean Carroll. This was decided by a civil jury this Tuesday, May 9, in what means a new legal coup for the former president, with specific aspirations of being the designated Republican Party for the 2024 presidential elections.
The act that was attributed to the tycoon dates from the mid-1990s. Carroll had denounced that Trump raped her in the dressing rooms of a Bergdorf Goodmann store in Manhattan and that, later in October 2022, he had damaged his reputation in his platform ‘Truth Social’, where he treated her as a liar.
The nine-member panel in the case that was held in Manhattan Federal Court awarded a $5 million dollar damages. While they did not find enough evidence to rule on rape, but they did find enough to confirm sexual abuse.
After deliberations, the jury reached a unanimous decision. Trump, as throughout the course of the case, was absent. His spokesperson, Steven Cheung, reported that they will use a resource to appeal. While this process is in force, the tycoon will not have to pay the compensation.
The former columnist for ‘Elle’ magazine left the premises accompanied by her lawyers, without giving any statements and with a smile on her face.
During the trial, two women testified against Trump, alleging that they had also suffered sexual harassment. Former ‘People’ magazine reporter Natasha Stoynoff testified that she was cornered at Mar-a-Lago in 2005 and was forcibly kissed. While Jessica Leeds, she recounted that she was kissed, groped and had his hand up her skirt during a flight in 1979.
The former president’s reaction occurred in ‘Truth Social’, where he described the verdict as “a shame” and that it was “the continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.” “I have no idea who this woman is,” he added.
While the Trump campaign team also reacted with criticism of the jury’s decision and warned that they will appeal the sentence. While they reiterated the idea of a persecution against the billionaire, since his complaints are developed in places more related to the Democratic Party.
“Our nation’s judicial system is compromised by politicians from the extremist left. We have allowed false and totally fabricated claims by disturbed people to interfere in our elections, doing immense damage,” they said.
So far, Trump’s image has not been affected by his hard-core court scandals. His followers have even held demonstrations repudiating the alleged harassment of justice against the tycoon, well positioned in his party in the dispute for the Republican nomination.
Even after receiving the formal accusation in the case on the bribes paid to the porn actress, Stormy Daniels, her figures in the polls increased.
With EFE and Reuters
