E. Jean Carroll says she plans to use $83 million on 'something Donald Trump hates'
Three days after a jury awarded her over $83 million for Donald Trump's repeated defamatory statements, columnist E. Jean Carroll vowed to use the money on "something Donald Trump hates."
"If it'll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that's my intent," Carroll told George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America," suggesting she would create a "fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump."
After a two-week trial, a jury took less than three hours on Friday to return a verdict that Trump should pay Carroll over $83 million in damages to compensate her for two defamatory statements made by the former president in 2019 after she alleged Trump sexually assaulted her in 1996.
A separate jury last year found that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll and defamed her, awarding her $5 million.
Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation since 2019 and attended five days of the defamation trial including testifying to double down on his claims. On Friday, he vowed to appeal the verdict.
Sitting feet from Trump in court for five days, Carroll described that her fears leading up to the trial about interacting with the former president washed away as soon as the trial began.
"It was like he was like nothing, like an emperor without clothes," Carroll said. "All my terror leading up to it, and there he is. He's just something in a suit."
Trump's in-person attendance at the trial – after missing last year's trial – briefly interrupted the proceedings, including when the former president muttered defamatory statements in earshot of the jury or walked out during the closing statement delivered by Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan.
Kaplan, however, said Trump's behavior only validated the central thesis of her case that Trump is "a bully who can't follow the rules."
"I definitely thought we got a few more million dollars immediately," Kaplan said about Trump walking out of court during her closing statement. "I was like, well, that's worth about $10 million."
A few hours after Trump stormed out of court, the jury delivered their unanimous verdict and $83.3 million award. As the jury left the courtroom, Carroll and her lawyers held hands, exchanging smiles with some of the jurors.
"It made me burst into tears because they met my eyes for the first time," Carroll said about seeing the jurors.
Kaplan added that she is confident they will be able to collect the $83.3 million, explaining that Trump could either pay a bond or deposit the money in full until he appeals.
"I'm pretty confident one way or the other. We might not get it right away. But one way or the other, he owns a lot of real estate. It can be sold. We will collect the judgment," Kaplan said.
While Trump has not mentioned Carroll by name in the days since the verdict, Carroll said that she is not confident the former president will refrain from defaming her, and her lawyer said "all options are on the table" if Trump decides to defame her client again.
"If we have to bring another case, we'll bring another case. It's just going to be more money," Kaplan said.
