Trump's attorney Alina Habba contended that Carroll “had failed to show she is entitled to any damages at all” because she "actively sought the comments and the attention" she received.
Wow. They actually used the “she was asking for it” argument against a victim of sexual assault.
Also, he’s still not going to shut up about it and will land back in court under additional defamation charges.
Not exactly. It's far more insidious (and stupid). Her tact was to show that Carroll already received her financial reward by all the books and news appearances (i.e. the "comments and attention"). Basically, "Sure, she was raped, but look how well she profited from it!"
Too bad that kind of argument is only really relevant to the first trial. This one was punitive damages for failing to shut up after losing the first one, the purpose of which is to punish Trump so he thinks twice about doing it again, not award reparations to Ms. Carroll.
Alina Habba is truly the lawyer Trump deserves.
I agree, and my comment was intended as a reference not to the original rape but to the defense saying that she did not deserve any additional compensation due to Trump’s ongoing defamation because she wanted to profit off of it.
If I remember, one of his initial defenses against the allegations of rape was that the woman accusing him was too unattractive to rape, while other defenses were “they just let you do it.” I was thinking about the ironic application of the “asking for it” argument being applied to the additional judgement of defamation.
He’s going to triple down on this though, because he never thinks twice about anything. I don’t know if he is actually playing the game of “never admit to being wrong even when you are” or if he’s simply delusional enough to have reconstructed reality in his own brain, but I’d lay a wager that he’s not going to be able to shut up about this, even now. I don’t think it will even take a reporter triggering him by asking about it. I think it’s just going to pop out in one of his word salad campaign rambles.
I think it’s just going to pop out in one of his word salad campaign rambles.
And I can't wait for that to happen, because I'm sure a third jury will be so pleased (/s) he did it a third time.
Can't wait for someone to ask him about the case at a rally or something. He won't be able to help himself.
The sheer speed at which the jury came to this determination is a really good sign that everyone on the jury was like "fuck this dude in particular". Not only that, what I think was hilarious was that Trump's testimony about his valuation in his NY civil trail was submitted and accepted as evidence for the determination on this fine. Like literally some Loony Toons Wile E. Coyote exploding in your face kind of thing.
This was such a massive L for Trump's legal team that I believe the correct lawyer term is HA HA HA HAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHA!!
I swear, I'm just waiting for what creative backhoing their graves Trump's team will be doing in the appeals.
What's that saying? "Speech is free. Lies are expensive."
"Speech is free. Lies are expensive."
I'm gonna go ahead and borrow this, and then save it for later.
I believe the correct lawyer term is HA HA HA HAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHA!!
Lawyer here. Can confirm.
It’s great when lawyers use the old Latin phrase but you can still figure out what it means through context.
Wow, 3x the money in punitive damage. Imagine how bad it'd be if this country did anything but fine rich people for being evil...
I overshot the damages award in a previous comment I made. I thought it was going to be closer to $150 million, but $83 million is still substantial. Plus there is a strong likelihood E. Jean Carroll and Robbie Kaplan could sue Donald Trump for defamation again for all the things he posted during this trial.
I'd just love to see this snowball into an avalanche.
It's already happening. He's probably defaming her on Truth Social right now while OD'ing on McDonald's.
He couldn't shut up if his life depended on being quiet. I hope this drains his pockets until there's nothing left.
Waiting for the SCOTUS to (again) reduce punitive damage limits in order to protect their special boy.
Historically, they HATE punitive civil damages and look for cases to cut them back. That's where the current ~4x limit currently exists, which even in the State Farm decision was clearly flagged as toeing the line.
Just look at how little actual damage Exxon ever paid for the Valdez spill. Or McDonalds for the hot coffee. These punitive damages always have a habit of just evaporating after the headlines. Leaving the victim little better off than before.
I doubt that will happen. This is round two of defaming her; it's already been established that he raped and defamed her, and it is glaringly obvious that he did it again (even before this verdict). His team will have to first appeal to the New York Court of Appeals, and it's very unlikely that they'll even hear it.
SCOTUS isn't likely to do him a favor but virtue of the highest court in NY not hearing it and this being a very obvious case of repeat offense. They suck right now, and they've made some really awful arguments and rulings, but they haven't exactly been a rubber stamp for Trump or Conservatives, either.
It’s a civil case, unfortunately, so jail time was never an option. At the time the incident occurred, there was a five year statute of limitations, so Trump has never been charged criminally in the matter.
There's something truly gross about a civil case being the only recourse for a heinous crime.
Fucking loser always loses.
He's demonstrably the actual biggest loser in history, and he just got more loser-y folks... If any of you are starting to have your memories fade, here's a quick refresher to read this morning and then copy and send to your aunt karen in Missouri.
Start the clock... how long until he fucks up this ruling too?
Are we using American time with Scaramuccis or British time with Lettuces?
I'd be fine if he keeps doing this and Carroll just bleeds him and his supporters dry and she becomes mega rich
He wouldn't have to pay anything if he could have kept his little anus mouth shut.
I give it less than a day before he defames her again.
He probably already has, but I refuse to go to his sewer of a Twitter clone to see.
It's complete insanity that neither party is using this case against Trump during the primaries. Especially Haley, it's a gift wrapped opportunity for her to score points on Trump and she completely ignores it. Her campaign was a lost cause from the start but none of the Republican candidates have acted like they are even trying.
Erm, Haley is using this for her campaign:
“Donald Trump wants to be the presumptive Republican nominee and we’re talking about $83 million in damages. We’re not talking about fixing the border. We’re not talking about tackling inflation,” Haley said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “America can do better than Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”
Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4432630-haley-trump-defamation-verdict-america-can-do-better/
She's not wrong that we can do better.
She's just wrong in assuming she is better.
Honestly though, has trump ever paid anyone anything, like ever??
(In Nelson’s voice) “HA-HA!”
God sent Trump… to rape women and harass them relentlessly while encouraging others to threaten their lives. God be praised. Praise be to the rapist messiah.
I hope this goes on forever: he keeps defaming, she keeps sueing. Cause we all know this fat turd wont keep his mouth shut.
He'll pay as much as Alex Jones has. Jack shit. Unless the court can forcibly remove the funds from their accounts or put them in prison until they pay, these fucks will do nothing.
Can we start a pool on when/if he actually pays?
He already paid the previous $5 million. Technically it's in an escrow pending appeal, so Carroll doesn't have it yet. But regardless, Trump is out $5 million.
Now Trump has four choices:
Pay the $83 million to Carroll
File an appeal, which means either paying $83 million into an escrow account or putting a lien on his properties and getting a bank to pay $83 million into an escrow account. Either way, Carroll gets the money as soon as she wins the appeal
Do nothing. This is the worst option, because after 30 days Carroll's lawyers would start choosing Trump properties to auction off and/or directly withdrawing money from his bank accounts.
Declare bankruptcy. This could introduce a delay, but it will inevitably result in Trump properties being auctioned off.
That's 41.5 presidential pardons
People in this thread saying he's not going to pay. How can he just not pay if it's a court order? Genuinely curious how that works. (Assuming the appeal is denied or whatever the final number he owes is).
Someone can probably give a better answer, but it starts by him not paying.
He will appeal the result and that could easily take another year or so, during which time he doesn't pay.
Then he will just not pay, that will take some time since you can't complain to the courts that he didn't pay after 1 day, it probably takes at least 90 days, but realistically probably closer to 120 or 150 days so that he is REALLY overdue.
Then he is given a grace period to respond, that's another 30 to 60 days. He'll just say that he can't. That goes back and forth for a while, at least 6 months total.
Eventually the courts might put some sort of lien on Trump's income except he doesn't make money the traditional way, so it won't pay out. That takes another 6 months or so.
Then maybe they start going after assets. Assets aren't just free, so that takes even more time.
Also during all of this Trump moves assets around. He isn't allowed to, but he's already not allowed to and he has.
At some point in this process an agreement for a settlement is brought up. Trump will offer pennies on the dollar, which no one will accept. Trump will use this to bide even more time.
It's neverending legal maneuvering. Just bullshit on bullshit on bullshit. Eventually someone gives up or dies. It takes tens of tens of years. At any point Trump can just start to pay a little bit of it, then stop after a few months and the process starts again.
BTW if you don't pay your bills the full fury comes down on you. No baby gloves.
He will appeal the result and that could easily take another year or so, during which time he doesn't pay.
To appeal he will have to put the amount ik escrow. Which negates a few of the statements you've made. Though completely agree that Trump usually goes for delay, delay, delay.
No surprise this being the result, it will be very hard to find anyone in NYC that would go easy on the person known for decades as the city's biggest douchebag.
LO fucking L
Badda Bing, Badda Boom.
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News