A Manhattan jury ruled on Tuesday that former US President Donald Trump must pay $5 million in damages for sexually assaulting magazine writer E Jean Carroll in the 1990s and then discrediting her by labeling her a liar.
Here’s an overview of what could come next:
Will Trump appeal?
Yes. Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, said he will challenge U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s ruling, which he believes is unfair.
To prevail, Trump would have to show that Kaplan has misapplied the law in several rulings and that this has deprived him of a fair trial.
Tacopina told reporters that the appeals issues include Kaplan’s decision to let jurors hear the Access Hollywood tape, which recorded Trump talking about grabbing women’s genitals without their consent.
Jurors also saw footage of Trump defending those comments in a statement. Experts said Trump doesn’t seem to have a strong case to appeal, pointing to Kaplan’s experience and that quality lawyers on both sides seemed to have guaranteed a fair trial.
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan — who is not related to Judge Kaplan — said on ABC’s Good Morning America TV show Wednesday that Trump had an “absolute zero” chance on appeal because the judge did everything it could to make sure the procedure was handled fairly.
Can Trump afford the $5 million?
Probably. In addition to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump owns the Trump National Doral Miami and a dozen other golf courses in the US, Scotland and Ireland.
Trump couldn’t use the campaign money to pay, but he could try to crowdfund it from supporters who believe his claims the case was a hoax orchestrated by political opponents.
Trump supporters have generously donated to his causes in the past. During his presidency, they donated more than $25 million to a crowdfunding campaign organized by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to support the building of a wall along the US-Mexico border.
What happens if Trump doesn’t pay?
Trump remained defiant after the verdict, saying he never met Carroll and doubling down on his claim that the case is designed to prevent him from retaking the White House in 2024.
He has paid to have lawsuits terminated while denying the allegations against him in the past. In 2018, he paid $25 million to students at his now-defunct Trump University who claimed they had been duped into paying thousands of dollars for bogus business seminars. He admitted no wrongdoing under the agreement.
Trump will likely get a court order not to pay Carroll as long as his appeal is pending. Ultimately, Carroll and her lawyers have several legal options if Trump refuses to pay, including asking a court to place liens on his property or seize other sources of income.
Carroll said on a CNN appearance on Wednesday that the case is “not about the money,” but about “getting my name back.”
Will this have political implications?
That’s not yet clear, but some political strategists said the impact would likely be insignificant.
Trump received a boost in polls of potential Republican primary voters when Manhattan prosecutors indicted him for allegedly falsifying business records. That stemmed from an investigation into hush money payments he allegedly made to a porn star to keep her quiet about their alleged affair.
Trump’s campaign reported raising $14.5 million in the first three months of this year, with contributions soaring after he announced in mid-March that he was facing criminal charges.
But some strategists speculated the verdict could hurt Trump with college-educated suburban women, a key demographic.
How long would an objection procedure take?
An appeal can be resolved quickly, but federal appeals courts sometimes take a year or more to make decisions.
Carroll still has a pending defamation lawsuit against Trump, which has been deadlocked on appeal since she filed it in 2020, though it involves a unique legal question.
Carroll only charged Trump with libel in that case because the statute of limitations on her assault charge had expired. She filed her second lawsuit in 2022 after New York passed a law that allowed plaintiffs to sue for sexual assault when the opportunity to do so would otherwise have passed.
A federal appeals court earlier this year reversed a ruling by Kaplan in the first case and sent it back to him to decide whether a law protecting government employees from defamation claims applies.
What other legal problems does Trump face?
In addition to the hush money case in Manhattan, Trump faces two criminal investigations overseen by a US Justice Department special counsel into his retention of classified documents after leaving office and his attempts to reverse his 2020 election loss.
He also faces a criminal investigation by a Georgia prosecutor in connection with his efforts to reverse his defeat in that state.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all those cases and called himself the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt.