Former President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday after hearing the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll civil suit against him. Carroll claimed Trump raped her in the 1990s and then defamed her last year.
While writer E. Jean Carroll claimed that Trump raped her, the jury did not believe that claim was substantiated; however, they decided Trump was liable for “sexually abusing and forcibly touching” Carroll, as well as defamation.
The jury ruled that Trump must pay Carroll $5 million.
Trump responded with a blazing all-caps post on his Truth Social platform.
“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Trump said
Trump rages he has ‘no idea’ who E. Jean Carroll is after verdict https://t.co/W1A8VUfjzR pic.twitter.com/ICUahtRPFf
— New York Post (@nypost) May 9, 2023
“VERY UNFAIR TRIAL!” he also posted.
[firefly_poll]
“Waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation where I, despite being a current political candidate and leading all others in both parties, am not allowed to speak or defend myself, even as hard nosed reporters scream questions about this case at me. In the meantime, the other side has a book falsely accusing me of Rape, & is working with the press,” Trump wrote in an earlier post.
Trump said he would “appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, no matter the outcome!”
Trump did not attend the trial. His legal team did not call any witnesses or present any evidence. Jurors were able to view clips of Trump’s video deposition, according to the New York Post.
Last week, Trump was given extra time to reopen the case “for the sole purpose of testifying as a witness in this case,” but he did not do so, according to The Hill.
The Trump campaign says that the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll civil suit will be appealed pic.twitter.com/GFAvtJw7oI
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 9, 2023
In his closing argument, Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said Carroll’s story was bogus, according to the New York Post.
“The whole story is clearly an unbelievable work of fiction,” Tacopina said
He said the tactic of the legal team representing Carroll was to have the jury hate Trump “enough to ignore the facts.”
Tacopina said the claim was undercut by the fact that Carroll and those testifying in support of her could not recall the exact date the alleged incident happened.
“It’s not a coincidence all them can’t narrow down the time frame because they don’t want to give Donald Trump the opportunity to present an alibi witness,” Tacopina said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.