A federal appeals court on Monday overturned President-elect Donald Trump’s a jury verdict last year In the mid-1990s, he discovered that he had sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll.
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled: “Trump has failed to demonstrate that the district court erred in the challenged rulings” and “has failed to show that the claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights. A new trial is warranted.”
Jury in a civil case He held Trump accountable for sexually abusing Carroll in a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s, and in 2022 he determined that he had made defamatory statements. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Another jury, in another civil trial, ordered Trump to pay Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist. $83 million in damages. Trump’s appeal against that ruling is pending.
In the first trial, Trump said U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan erred in allowing two women, Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, to testify about Trump’s alleged sexual assaults. Trump has denied the claims of the two women.
Trump also decried Kaplan’s decision to authorize part of what is now infamous “Access Hollywood” tape enter the proof In the 2005 recording, Trump is heard describing to then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush how he kissed and groped women without first getting their consent.
President-elect Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lagon in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 16, 2024.
Evan Vucci/AP
The appeals court ruled in Monday’s opinion that the tape was admissible as “evidence of a pattern” of Trump’s alleged behavior.
“The jury could reasonably infer from these statements that, in the past, Mr. Trump had kissed women without their consent and then proceeded to touch their genitalia,” the opinion said.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, applauded Monday’s decision.
“E. Jean Carroll and I are pleased with today’s decision,” Kaplan said in a statement. “We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.”
ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.
