After a jury awarded her $5 million and ruled that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s, E. Jean Carroll approached the former president’s attorney and whispered, “He did it, and that do you know.’
Carroll, 79, triumphed over the former president yesterday in a civil trial in New York City.
She alleged that he raped her in the dressing room of the NYC department store in 1996, then smashed her name when she came forward in 2016 in an attempt to thwart his presidential campaign.
The jury sided with Trump on the rape charge—ruling that he was not specifically liable for it—but found that he had committed sexual abuse.
Trump did not attend the trial nor testify. He has since called it an extension of the “greatest witch hunt.”
On Wednesday morning, E. Jean rode her victory lap on the morning breakfast TV shows, which were featured on Good morning America and the TODAY show.
On Wednesday morning, E. Jean rode her victory lap on the morning breakfast TV shows, appearing on Good Morning America and the TODAY show
‘I feel fantastic!’ Carroll and her lawyer Roberta Kaplan enjoy their courtroom victory
‘I feel fantastic! Yesterday was probably the best day of my life,” she gleefully told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
Carroll said she only filed the damages claim against Trump after he “dragged her through the mud.”
“I just decided to come forward and tell them what happened. I thought that was enough.
“Then he said horrible things about me, dragged me through the mud, buried my face in the dirt. It was horrible. So I talked to Robbie Kaplan and Robbie and filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump.
“And yesterday, despite prosecutors and special counsel and investigators and all these legal snarls piling up on Trump, it was this 5ft 3, crafty female lawyer and this elderly 79 year old advice columnist who finally hold Donald Trump accountable.”
She continued her win streak on NBC’s TODAY.
“I am overwhelmed, overwhelmed with joy and happiness and delight for the women of this country.”
She believes her case “upended” the stereotype of the concept of a “perfect” sexual assault victim.
“Before yesterday, there was this idea of the perfect victim, who always screams, always reports to the police, always takes notes when it happened, and their lives come crashing down and they’re not supposed to be happy.
Trump flatly rejected the jury’s decision yesterday and vowed to appeal
Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina walked out of court yesterday after the jury sided with Carroll and awarded $5 million in damages
This image released by Kaplan Hecker & Fink and presented as evidence during the impeachment of former President Donald Trump shows E. Jean Carroll, second from left, and her then-husband John Johnson, center, meeting Trump, left, and his wife Ivanka at an event in the 1980s
An image presented as an exhibit during the Carroll v. Trump civil trial
‘Yesterday we scrapped that concept, it’s gone. It’s not so much about me, it’s about every woman.”
She says she approached Trump attorney Joe Tacopina after the jury’s verdict was announced.
“Tacopina held out his hand and I said, ‘He did it and you know it.'”
Trump flatly rejected the jury’s decision yesterday and vowed to appeal.
“It’s all a scam. And it’s a shame, and it’s a shame for our country.
What else can you expect from a Trump-hating Clinton-appointed judge who went out of his way to ensure that the outcome of this trial was as negative as possible.
Speaking to and presiding over a jury from an anti-Trump area, which to me is probably the worst place in the United States to get a fair trial.
Donald Trump, pictured earlier this month, did not attend the trial or testify
“We are appealing this decision. It is a shame. I don’t even know who this woman is. I have no idea who she is, where she’s from,” he gushed in a Truth Social post.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said he has “zero chance” of an appeal because he failed to show up at the trial to testify.
“Judge Kaplan is one of the fairest judges. he gave them more trial than anyone else ever gets. He gave him multiple chances to come to that courtroom and testify.
‘He refused to do this. He has no profession. In our country, no one, not even a former president, not even a Celebrity Apprentice star, is above the law.”
The jury awarded Carroll $2 million for Trump’s sexual assault and $20,000 in punitive damages.
For defamation, jurors awarded $1 million for Trump’s October statement, another $1.7 million for damage to Carroll’s reputation, and $280,000 in punitive damages.
The total was $5 million.