Trump loses appeal of verdict on civil sexual abuse case

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that President-elect Donald Trump had not shown how the district court erred in finding him liable for sexual abuse in the civil case. In May 2023, a jury found that Trump sexually abused magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. Trump appealed that decision. Carrol filed the civil lawsuit in 2022, alleging decades-old abuse. Carroll was awarded $5 million in total damages during the 2023 trial.

In 2019, Carroll had filed a separate lawsuit against Trump accusing him of defaming her. In January 2024, a jury ordered Trump to pay her more than $83 million in damages for the defamation.

What did Trump say on appeal? He asked for a new trial, arguing that the district court improperly prevented some evidence that was favorable to his side from making its way into the courtroom. At the same time, the court also improperly permitted testimony and other evidence into the trial alleging that Trump routinely engaged in sexually abusive acts, Trump said. But the appeals court rejected his arguments.

Dig deeper: Read my report in the WORLD archives about the decision the Manhattan jury came to at the district court level.