A US author accuses Donald Trump of raping him. The New York jury didn’t go that far – but dealt the former US President a severe blow. Trump doesn’t want to leave it like that.
Former US President Donald Trump wants to appeal his conviction for sexual abuse. He announced this after a lost civil case last night (local time) via video message. “The whole thing is a scam and (…) a disgrace to our entire country,” said the Republican, who wants to move back into the White House in 2024.
A New York jury had sentenced him to pay millions in damages for the sex crime reported by a US author.
For Trump, who wants to run next year as a Republican candidate in the presidential election, the verdict is another legal setback. After the eagerly awaited decision, some party colleagues were also critical of the 76-year-old’s application for the highest state office.
$5 million in compensation
The author E. Jean Carroll had accused Trump of raping her in a New York upscale department store in the mid-1990s. The real estate entrepreneur, who was not yet active as a politician at the time, always rejected the accusation. The criminal allegations are statute-barred, but under civil law the 79-year-old Carroll was free to take legal action. The jury now evaluated the incident as sexual abuse, among other things – they rejected the allegation of rape. Trump has to pay a total of five million US dollars (around 4.56 million euros) in compensation and fines.
“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and get my life back,” US media quoted Carroll as saying. “Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me, but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”
After the verdict was announced, Trump was outraged by the decision in the usual manner and spoke in a video on his Twitter replacement Truth Social of a politically motivated “witch hunt”. The liberal east coast metropolis of New York is “probably the worst place in the United States” to get a fair trial.
Not the only case against Trump
In early April, Trump became the first former US president to be criminally charged in another trial. He is being investigated for a number of possible crimes. Most recently, his polls in internal party polls had risen – Trump is well ahead of other possible Republican candidates who want to challenge US President Joe Biden in 2024. Despite all the allegations against Trump, Republicans are still largely united behind him.
Nevertheless, critical tones could also be heard after the verdict was announced. “Republicans shouldn’t dismiss this and say it doesn’t matter,” said former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson. He is also running for the Republican presidential nomination.
Republican Senator Kevin Cramer said the ruling was not “disqualifying” but had implications for Trump’s eligibility. “That and a few other things make me question whether he would be the best candidate for the party,” he was quoted as saying by CNN. Trump ally Kevin McCarthy, as chairman of the House of Representatives, did not want to comment on the verdict in the afternoon when asked.
Various women have accused Trump of sexual harassment in the past, which he has always denied. During his presidential election campaign in 2016, an old audio recording was made public in which Trump made lewd and derogatory statements about women – and about the fact that women could also be touched by their genitals if they wanted to and were a star like him.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
