UPDATE (May 9, 2023, 5:23 p.m. ET): This post has been updated to include E. Jean Carroll’s statement on Tuesday after a jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.
After closing arguments wrapped up Monday in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against Donald Trump, jurors began their deliberations on Tuesday. While that process can be unpredictable, it turned out they only needed about three hours.
On Tuesday afternoon, the outcome of the civil case was announced: Jurors held the former president liable for sexual abuse and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. NBC News reported:
Asked on their verdict sheet if Carroll, 79, had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump raped Ms. Carroll,” the nine-person jury checked the box that said “no.” Asked if Carroll had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll,” the jury checked the box that said “yes.” Both allegations were elements of Carroll’s battery claim. The six men and three women also found Trump had defamed her by calling her claims a “hoax” and “a con job.”
The nine-member jury in the federal case was unanimous.
As my MSNBC colleague Lisa Rubin, who’s been covering the trial from the courthouse in New York, explained after the verdict was announced, “E. Jean Carroll didn’t just get her day in court. She was vindicated on both her sexual assault and defamation claims.”
In a statement following the verdict on Tuesday, Carroll thanked “all those who have stood by me from the start.”
“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back,” she said. “Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”
Oddly enough, as recently as this morning, Trump, who has long denied the allegations, insisted via social media that he was “not allowed to speak or defend” himself. That…
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