US jury orders Trump to pay $83.3 million in defamation suit

WASHINGTON

A New York jury ordered former President Donald Trump to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages Friday for defamation after she accused him of sexual assault.

The jury awarded Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, $11 million for damage to her reputation and another $7.3 million, according to multiple outlets.

Carroll accuses the former president of damaging her reputation by calling her a liar.

The verdict marks the second time Trump has been ordered to compensate Carroll. He was directed by a jury to pay $5 million in another defamation suit last year.

The nine-person jury began deliberations in New York federal court at 1.40 p.m. local time and reached its verdict in a little under three hours, NBC News reported.

Trump was quick to respond, saying he would appeal.

"Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party," he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" he added.

Carroll, 80, alleged that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman store in New York in the spring of 1996.