A US jury sentenced the former president to a fine.
(Photo: AP)
new York For Donald Trump, it is one of many legal proceedings currently underway against him. The former US President has to pay millions in compensation for sexual assault. That was decided by a jury in New York on Tuesday. The 76-year-old was spared a rape conviction.
It was only in early April that he appeared in New York in a hush money trial involving porn star Stormy Daniels. The next appointment there is scheduled for December. Other lawsuits concern the accounting of his real estate companies and the rush to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The jury on the current case in Manhattan federal court — six men and three women — ruled on Tuesday that Trump had molested former Elle fashion columnist E. Jean Carroll. The jury saw the allegation of rape as unproven. She awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for assault and defamation.
Donald Trump calls rape allegation a lie
Carroll, now 79, publicly accused then-President Trump in 2019 of raping her in a dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996 at the New York luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the rape allegation as a hoax and a lie.
Even after the verdict, he commented on “Truth Social”: The jury’s decision was a “total disgrace” and a “continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time”. Trump himself did not appear in court in person, but had his attorney represent him.
Trump fined $5 million for sexual assault
Trump’s attorney has announced an appeal against the jury’s decision. “He’s ready to move on. He will fight it on appeal,” attorney Joseph Tacopina said of his client Tuesday outside the courthouse. Tacopina said he welcomed the dismissal of the civil rape lawsuit. However, the judgment was inconsistent – the court was also biased.
Since the verdict is not about a criminal offense, Trump can continue to run as a presidential candidate in the next election. Trump has so far been the most promising candidate in the polls to win the Republican primaries.
With agency material
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First publication: 05/09/2023, 21:31 (last updated: 05/10/2023, 00:04).