Trump attacks ‘biased’ judge, appeals after jury finds he sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll in dressing room

Donald Trump announced he would appeal and called the verdict a “disgrace” after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing a writer in the 1990s.

The former US president was also found guilty of defaming E. Jean Carroll, but the civil case rejected her claim that she was raped during the encounter.

Trump card must pay the former advice columnist for Elle magazine $5 million (£4 million) in damages.

Carroll, 79, said they met in a Manhattan department store in 1995 or 1996 and Trump eventually raped her in a dressing room.

She also said that he defamed her by claiming that she made up the story.

On his website Truth Social, Trump lashed out at the allegations, calling the result a “continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time” and a “disgrace.”

He claimed that the judge was biased and made sure that “the result was as negative as possible because he spoke to and controlled a jury from an anti-Trump area…”

The nine-member jury deliberated for nearly three hours before finding him guilty on Tuesday.

After the verdict, Ms. Carroll said she sued Trump to “get my life back” and that “today the world finally knows the truth.”

“This victory is not only for me, but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed,” she said.

She testified that the attack occurred after a chance encounter with Trump at the Bergdorf Goodman store across from Trump Tower.

She said it started with a casual conversation in which they teased each other about trying on a piece of lingerie before Trump turned violent in a dressing room.

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Trump, who did not attend the trial and waived his right to testify or present a defense, insisted that he never sexually abused Ms. Carroll and never knew her.

The 76-year-old, who hopes to return to the White House in 2024, does not have to pay the compensation while the case is in the appeal phase.

Ms Carroll told jurors that Trump had “destroyed” her reputation.

Her defamation lawsuit was based on an October 2022 post on Truth Social in which he called her allegations a “complete hoax” and “a fraud and a lie.”

‘No one is above the law’

Because the case was civil, Trump faces no criminal consequences. However, his former adviser Sean Spicer said the rape allegation would still weigh on him.

“It’s never good to have a judgment against you… especially when it’s a judgment like this,” he said.

Mr Spicer said: “Optics matter in politics, but I think if you were President Trump right now … the rape accusation would have hurt you very much.”

Ms Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the ruling was also a victory “for democracy itself and for all survivors everywhere”.

“No one is above the law, not even a former president of the United States,” she added.

During the seven-day trial, the jury was also presented with a Trump confuses Mrs. Carroll with his ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo – which, according to her lawyers, undermined his argument that she was not his type.

Trump’s lawyers had previously stated that Ms. Carroll had abused the system for “financial, status and political reasons.”

Outside the courtroom, Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said the verdict was “inconsistent” but he was glad that Trump was “not branded a rapist.”

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“For me it’s about the results,” he said.

“Although it was strange, part of me was of course very happy that Donald Trump was not branded a rapist. I didn’t think there should be any findings of guilt, so we’ll continue to pursue this.”