The appeals court will consider whether to throw out the $5 million verdict against Trump.
Topline
Former President Donald Trump arrived at a New York appeals court Friday ahead of a panel of judges hearing his appeal of writer E. Jean Carroll’s first trial against him, as the ex-president argues a $5 million verdict finding him liable for defamation and sexual assault should be overturned.Key Facts
Trump’s motorcade arrived at the Manhattan federal courthouse ahead of the scheduled 10 a.m. hearing, according to the Associated Press.
Trump is appealing a jury’s verdict from May 2023 finding him liable for sexually assaulting—but not raping—Carroll in the 1990s, and for defaming her when he denied her allegations and publicly attacked her, claiming the writer wasn’t “my type.”
The ex-president has denied any wrongdoing in the case and claims he never met Carroll and that she’s using the allegations for her own gain, and his lawyers have argued on appeal that “inflammatory” evidence was used at the trial that should not have been admitted, like the “Access Hollywood” tape where Trump bragged about “grab[bing]” women “by the pussy” and testimony by a different woman who alleged Trump also assaulted her.
The jury at the first trial ordered Trump to pay $5 million in damages, which Trump is contesting.
Trump’s appeal will be heard by a panel of three judges, who were appointed to the court by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
