How E. Jean Carroll came out on top
A jury just ordered Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in her defamation case (considered case #1). That was in addition to the $5.5 million Trump was ordered to pay Carroll in May 2023 for her rape case (considered case #2), which Trump is appealing.
Case #1 was delayed in 2021 when Merrick Garland’s DOJ upheld an earlier decision by Trump’s DOJ to substitute themselves as the defendant for remarks Trump made while president in 2019. Lest anyone still begrudge Garland’s DOJ decision, it turned out to be fortuitous. Case #2 was filed after New York state gave people the chance to sue over sexual assault in the Fall of 2022. Then in 2023, case #1 resumed after the DOJ reversed its decision to shield Trump.
As Palmer Report often points out, Trump has taken control of his own defense teams with the goal of sowing doubt in our court system, at his own peril. For example, in the NY civil fraud case, Trump’s incompetent legal team failed to request a jury trial, resulting in him losing in summary judgment. An award of up to $370 million is expected by January 31st.
Trump’s decision not to appear during E. Jean Carroll’s case #2 rape trial probably worked in his favor, limiting his damages to only $5.5 million because he wasn’t there to botch things up. But thereafter his legal defense has spiraled out of control.
After losing case #2 in May 2023, Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, shook E. Jean Carroll’s hand and hugged her attorney Roberta Kaplan. Then, right before the trial for case #1, Tacopina and his colleagues resigned as Trump’s legal team.
That left Trump with Alina Habba, who performed like the straight woman to Trump’s clown act, in an appalling display of histrionic antics trying to taint the jury. Meanwhile, Carroll’s legal team led by Roberta Kaplan, (legendary for successfully arguing the 2013 U.S. v. Windsor case before SCOTUS legalizing same-sex marriage) masterfully argued that the $5.5 million judgment in case #2 was not nearly enough to stop Trump’s defamation of Carroll.
So, in case #1, Robbie Kaplan asked for $12 million for reputation repair plus $24 million in punitive damages. The jury awarded $18.3 million in compensatory and $65 million in punitive damages, substantial enough to deter Trump from further defamation but not too excessive to be overturned on appeal. Trump has refrained from further public slander of E. Jean ever since. Also, to appeal the case, Trump must post bond covering $83.3 million plus compound interest of 4.47%, or $300,000 per month. Most experts doubt Trump’s ability to make bond.
Not only has Trump failed to sow distrust in our courts, but E. Jean has RESTORED our faith. E. Jean has been heroically risking her life to hold Trump accountable. Last year, I met E. Jean at a virtual tea party. She is a genuinely kind and supportive person, helping others unconditionally. I want E. Jean to get her money. So far, I find no updates on the case #2 appeal. At this rate, if Trump fails to post the $83.3 million bond for case #1, the larger award might have to be paid before the smaller award.
Chicago native Lorraine Evanoff earned her degree in French from DePaul University then became a Certified Financial Manager. She worked as a finance exec in film production for seven years in Paris, then in Silicon Valley during the dot-com era, and later for various Hollywood production companies, notably as CFO of National Lampoon. She is currently living in Los Angeles with her husband.