Defamation Charges Recognized Against Past Sexual Harassment Victim
"Witch Hunt Ordered by Joe Biden... This Is Not America"
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay an additional compensation amounting to over 100 billion won after being found liable for defamation related to a sexual assault victim from 28 years ago. Trump announced his intention to appeal, calling it a "witch hunt ordered by Joe Biden" on social media.
According to foreign media including The New York Times (NYT) on the 26th (local time), a jury at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Trump must pay $83.3 million (approximately 111.2 billion won) in damages to the plaintiff, E. Jean Carroll. Of the $83.3 million, $18.3 million (about 24.4 billion won) is compensatory damages for actual harm, and $65 million (about 86.7 billion won) is punitive damages. The jury explained the reason for the damages by stating that "Trump’s statements that falsely accused plaintiff Carroll of fabricating her sexual assault claims caused substantial harm to the plaintiff." This trial, which began in mid-month, is a civil lawsuit filed by plaintiff Carroll seeking compensation for damages caused by Trump's offensive remarks.
Carroll claims that she was sexually assaulted by Trump in 1996 at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, New York. In May of last year, the jury ruled in favor of Carroll, ordering Trump to pay $5 million (about 660 million won) in damages. The issue arose when, after losing the case, Trump described Carroll as "a very sick person" in a broadcast interview and claimed that all her sexual assault allegations were false and fabricated.
In response, Carroll filed an additional lawsuit, including statements not covered in the first case, alleging that Trump defamed her. During the trial, the plaintiff emphasized that to truly impact billionaire Trump, a high compensation amount of at least $10 million (about 1.33 billion won) was necessary, and the jury accepted this argument.
Trump left the courthouse before the jury announced the verdict. On the social media platform Truth Social, he called the trial result "truly ridiculous" and expressed his intention to appeal. He claimed the trial was a "witch hunt ordered by Joe Biden targeting me and the Republican Party." Referring to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, Trump said, "My constitutional rights have been taken away. This is not America."
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