An appeals court upholds a $5 million award in a sexual abuse verdict against President-elect Trump
Associated PressNEW YORK — A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury’s finding in a civil case that Donald Trump sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The judge also had allowed the jury to view the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump boasted in 2005 about grabbing women’s genitals because when someone is a star, “you can do anything.” “We conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” the 2nd Circuit said. Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, said in a statement that Trump was elected by voters who delivered “an overwhelming mandate, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax, which will continue to be appealed.” Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer who represented Carroll during the trial and is not related to the judge, said in a statement: “Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.” The first jury found in May 2023 that Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her with comments he made in October 2022.