Before talking about Donald Trump’s testimony at the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, let’s review some background information first.
In May 2023, a federal jury concluded a civil trial between Trump and Carroll by determining that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. He was ordered to pay her five million dollars in damages, part of which was meant to compensate Carroll for what he supposedly did to her and part of which was punitive.
| Candidate | Party | BetOnline | Bovada | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | Republican | -175 | -165 | -184 |
| Kamala Harris | Democrat | +153 | +145 | +163 |
After the trial, Trump expressed dismay in response to that verdict, claiming that he did not know the woman and that he was the target of a politically motivated “witch hunt,” as he put it.
The second trial between Carroll and Trump was devoted to different comments that Trump made in 2019, which the judge had already found to be defamatory.
It was directed that the outcome of the second trial was to specify the exact compensation that should be given to Carroll.
Her lawyers were seeking ten million dollars for harm committed against her reputation in addition to further punitive damages that they did not specify.
They wanted to force Trump to stop injuring her reputation, especially as his so-called defamatory comments against her bred further personal attacks against her by many of his millions of supporters.
Conditions of Trump’s Testimony
Reviewing the above background information is important because it helps make sense of the limitations imposed on Trump’s testimony in this second Carroll versus Trump trial.
Trump’s decision to testify in this second trial was his own – he intended to testify but needed to satisfy certain conditions in order to do so.
These conditions revolve around the fact that, however much he might disagree with the verdict, it was established in the first trial that he was liable for sexual abuse (but not rape) against Carroll.
In his testimony, as well as in his team’s overall defense, Trump was barred from denying that the sexual abuse took place – relatedly, he could not cite the absence of DNA evidence. He could not claim that what he had said was true. He also could not say anything about Carroll’s previous romantic relationships.
In order to aid the outcome of his testimony, Trump’s lawyer averred that Trump was being made to testify in a “particular affirmative manner” whereby he was forced to say what his opponents wanted him to say.
| Candidate | Bovada | BetOnline |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | -1200 | -5000 |
| Nikki Haley | +1200 | |
| Ron DeSantis | +8000 | |
| Tucker Carlson | +12,500 | |
| Ivanka Trump | +20,000 | |
| Any Other Candidate | +1200 |
Trump’s Testimony
Trump’s testimony lasted a mere number of minutes, as his attorney had very little to ask him and Carroll’s team had even less to ask him.
First, Trump’s attorney asked him whether he maintained the veracity of previous sworn testimony that he made in which he rejected Carroll’s allegations against him.
Trump responded that he completely stood by what he said in that deposition.
His next comment, that he considered that Carroll had made a false accusation, elicited the ire of the judge who cut him off, asking the jury to strike from the record everything that Trump said after his initial response to his attorney’s question.
The former President’s attorney then asked whether in the statements he had made he had instructed anybody to harm Carroll.
His answer was a noble-sounding one: he said that he did not instruct anybody to harm her and that he merely wanted to defend himself as well as his family “and frankly the presidency.”
After a cross-examination from Carroll’s team that lasted even less time, Trump’s testimony ended.
After His Testimony
The most interesting event, besides the ruling itself, that took place after his testimony was Trump’s decision to stand up and walk out of the courtroom during the closing argument made by Carroll’s lawyer. Nobody could have predicted this at the political betting sites.
Trump’s decision to walk out was certainly a thoughtless and irrational one. The judge noted his decision for the record. His behavior did not help his case at all.
His decision does convey his distress in response to this confluence of legal events mounting against him.
The previous trial and then the events of the current trial agitated him.
Within the courtroom, he continued to assert that he never knew Carroll. He continued to aver that he was a victim of an ongoing political witch hunt.
By the time Carroll’s lawyer was wrapping things up, Trump had clearly had enough. His walk-out amounted to a powerful statement of his determined sense that he was being wronged.
The Verdict
The jury determined that Carroll should receive 18.3 million dollars as compensation and 65 million dollars in punitive damages. The grand total that Carroll received was 83.3 million dollars.
