(CNN) Former President Donald Trump has appealed $5 million judgment He was indicted by a Manhattan federal jury for sexual abuse and former newspaper columnist E. Jean found Carroll guilty of libel.
Trump’s lawyers He filed a notice of appeal In the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, federal judge Louis Kaplan filed a written ruling upholding the jury’s verdict and ordering Trump to pay the full amount to Carroll. Kaplan presided over the civil trial in New York.
Trump has already indicated he plans to appeal.
Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York in the spring of 1996, and later slandered her when he denied her claims, suggesting she was not his type and made up the story to boost sales of his book.
The jury found him liable for the battery based on the sexual assault claim, ordered him to pay Carroll about $2 million in damages for the civil battery claim, and nearly $3 million in damages for successfully proving the defamation claim against him.
Although the jury found that Trump had sexually abused her, enough to hold him liable for battery, the jury did not find that Carroll proved that he sexually assaulted her.
Trump He denied all the claims Carroll brought a civil suit against him and called the verdict a “total disgrace”.
Like any defendant in a civil case, Trump was not required to appear in court for the hearing or any proceedings and had the right not to testify in his own defense. He did not attend the trial, and his team argued that the former president could not receive a fair trial in New York City.
During the trial, Carroll admitted that he was a registered Democrat and that he thought Trump was a terrible president, but testified that his political views had nothing to do with his case.
“I’m not settling a political score,” Carroll testified. “I’m settling a personal score because he repeatedly called me a liar and it really tarnished my reputation. I’m a journalist — the trust of the readers is something I deserve.”
Trump’s attorney, in his closing arguments earlier this week, told jurors he knew Trump was a divisive figure, but told them that didn’t matter when reaching a verdict.
“People have very strong feelings about Donald Trump. That’s obvious,” said attorney Joe Tacobina. “There’s a time and a secret place to do it: it’s called the ballot box during elections.”
The ruling will have no legal impact on Trump’s presidential bid. The former president has denied the allegations Dismissive comments were made About Carroll 24 hours after the jury found at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire.
This story has been updated with additional details.
