Donald Trump ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation

On Friday, a federal jury directed Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, who had accused the ex-U.S. president of tarnishing her reputation as a credible journalist by refuting allegations of sexual assault from almost three decades ago.

In November 2019, Carroll, 80, filed a lawsuit against Trump, citing his denials made five months earlier regarding the alleged rape in the mid-1990s, purportedly occurring in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.

At the age of 77, Trump asserted that he had no knowledge of Carroll and alleged that she fabricated the story to enhance the sales of her memoir.

His legal team argued that Carroll sought fame and relished the attention from supporters by speaking out against her adversary.

In a previous ruling last May, a different jury instructed Trump to compensate Carroll with $5 million for a similar denial in October 2022, concluding that he had both defamed and sexually abused her. Trump is currently in the process of appealing that decision.

This is a developing story that will be updated when more information is available.