E. Jean Carroll departs a Manhattan federal court after a jury award of $83.3 million over her defamation by Donald Trump, January 26, 2024, New York City (Spencer Platt/AFP/Getty)

Following Trump’s Rape of E. Jean Carroll, Jury Orders Him to Pay $83.3 Million For Defamation

I joined the BBC World Service and other UK outlets throughout Saturday, analyzing the significance of a jury award of $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll following her rape and malicious defamation by Donald Trump.

Listen to Discussion from 30:40

I start with the importance for Carroll and for other women — in her words, “a great victory for every woman who stands up when she’s been knocked down” and “a huge defeat for every bully who has tried to keep a woman down”.

I explain the legal significance for Trump. Having tried to tear down the legal system to escape accountability, he has been found guilty in civil cases of sexual assault constituting rape, fraud, and defamation — and faces four criminal trials and 91 felony charges related to his attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential election, his theft of classified documents from the White House, and interference in the 2016 election through the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

And I take apart Trump’s political line — swallowed by far too much of the US and UK media — that the multiple cases and findings of guilt only bolster his effort to reclaim the White House, having tried to hold it in his January 2021 coup attempt.