Staff Reports
In a move that’s sure to raise eyebrows across the political spectrum, President-elect Donald Trump is not backing down after a New York jury slapped him with a $5 million verdict related to allegations made by writer E. Jean Carroll. His legal team has decided to take their battle to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, insisting the full court should take a fresh look at the case instead of leaving it to a smaller panel. This comes hot on the heels of the court upholding the costly judgment against him just a few days before the New Year.
Carroll, known for her literary endeavors rather than courtroom drama, initially claimed that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store back in the 1990s, then later accused him of defaming her after he publicly denied the allegations. Apparently, the jury didn’t find her claims too far-fetched, awarding her a whopping $5 million. But later twists in this saga brought Carroll an extra $83 million in damages, because nothing says justice like a staggering payout as long as the accused is Trump.
In light of the chaos, the Trump legal team argues that the 2023 trial was not just unfair but was marred by what they call “improper evidence.” Key among their complaints are testimonies from two other women who also accused Trump of similar misconduct and snippets of the infamous Access Hollywood tape. Their contention is that this kind of inflammatory evidence unfairly sways juries and sets a nasty precedent that could come back to haunt defendants in future cases.
Trump asks appeals court to revisit $5 million E. Jean Carroll verdict https://t.co/dhgbrwAsNh
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 14, 2025
The lawyers didn’t hold back when laying out their concerns, suggesting that Carroll’s claims were so thin that they required the bolstering of dubious evidence to make a case stick. Trump’s team contends that the trial failed to serve justice and instead was swayed by emotions and biases rather than adhering strictly to the law. An unsettling notion for front-row spectators watching this circus unfold in the courtroom.
This legal fiasco doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s doubling down on a larger campaign against Trump, who is facing a different civil case led by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Last year, a state court judge ordered him to shell out over $500 million for allegedly inflating his asset values. Talk about a double whammy! If Trump’s appeal to the 2nd Circuit doesn’t go his way, he may find himself looking up to the high court as his final avenue for relief. Good luck to them in the quest for justice against the backdrop of the ongoing war against Trump – if it wasn’t for double standards, some say he’d have no standards at all.
