[ad_1]
Lizzo was right: Truth Hurts. Two of Donald Trump’s “Truths” on his own Truth Social platform will cost the ex-president millions, even as he avoids full liability for the alleged rape of magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s.
On Tuesday, A Manhattan jury declared that Trump is liable for $2 million in damages for sexually harassing and an additional $3 million for defaming Carroll through his posts on his social media network.
According to reports coming out of the courtroom, the federal jury of six men and three woman told the court Tuesday afternoon that they had determined Trump sexually abused Carroll and that the former president had injured her reputation through a series of posts on Truth in October last year.
In two posts, Trump said the case was “a made up SCAM,” called her lawyer “a political operative, financed by a big political donor.” He also wrote “Does anybody believe that I would take a then almost 60 year old woman that I didn’t know, from the front door of a very crowded department store, (with me being very well known, to put it mildly!), into a tiny dressing room, and …. her.”
20% Off
LEGO Icons Bonsai Tree
A perfect tree
This magical little tree is a lot of fun to build, has a few customizable parts, and never needs watering to keep it alive. You can water it if you want, but it’s not necessary.
The jury said they determined Trump knew his statement about the lawsuit being a hoax was false, and thus defamatory under New York’s stringent standard of “actual malice.” As reported by The New York Times, Medill School of Journalism professor Ashlee Humphreys testified on behalf of Carroll during the trial that it would cost Carroll $2.7 million to repair reputational damage caused by Trump.
Trump’s legal team was ready right out of the court with a lengthy and rambling response to the verdict, proclaiming that the verdict was all a ploy by the Democratic Party. His spokespeople further mentioned there were “false and totally made-up claims from troubled individuals to interfere with our elections, doing great damage.” Of course, Trump would know all about made up claims doing great damage to U.S. elections.
Though Trump did not seem too aware for how his Truths contributed to the damages owed. Just minutes after the verdict was read out in court, Trump posted on Truth Social “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. The verdict is a disgrace – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”
This article is part of a developing story. Our writers and editors will be updating this page as new information is released. Please check back again in a few minutes to see the latest updates. Meanwhile, if you want more news coverage, check out our tech, science, or io9 front pages. And you can always see the most recent Gizmodo news stories at gizmodo.com/latest.
[ad_2]
