Donald Trump has joined the truth and called for presidents to be given immunity from prosecution after he was ordered to pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll.
Just over 24 hours after her victory, Carroll is already planning how she will spend the massive windfall and vowing to “do good” with the millions.
Her lawyer Roberta Kaplan believes that the former president will be forced to pay in full – even if he has to sell one of his properties or take out a loan.
Trump's anger spilled over to his Truth Social platform Saturday night as he posted angry rants in all caps.
“If a president is not granted immunity, any president who leaves office will be immediately impeached by the opposing party. “Without complete immunity, a President of the United States would not be able to function properly!” Trump wrote.
Former President Donald Trump, who must pay E. Jean Carroll an $83.3 million defamation loss, is now pushing for presidential immunity from prosecution
In a social media post, Trump argued that ex-presidents without immunity would be immediately impeached by the opposing party, which would hamper their abilities
After Friday's ruling, Trump launched a new attack on social media: “Our legal system is out of control and is being used as a political weapon.”
Trump was in Nevada on Saturday, holding a campaign event where he largely avoided talking about a jury's verdict Friday afternoon but used his four trials to advance his presidential case.
“I will be impeached for you,” he told the audience at the Big League Dreams Las Vegas sports park, a point of honor for the likely Republican candidate at his campaign rallies.
“Look at yesterday, look at all the crap that's going on, but we keep marching forward, we just keep going and somehow everything works out,” he said.
A woman cheers as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Saturday
As to whether E. Jean Carroll will ever receive the full amount awarded, her attorney Roberta Kaplan believes Judge Lewis Kaplan [not related] will ultimately force Trump to pay.
“Totally she's going to see that money.” So the kind of ratios the courts are concerned about are ratios above 6 to 1. Here we are well within that range,” attorney Roberta Kaplan said on CNN.
“Here the damages are $18 million.” So a penalty of $65 million and compensation of $18 million are not such a big ratio. And I can't imagine the court would have a problem with that,” she said.
“I think he will have to pay. And whether he has to sell something or put a lien on something to get a loan, that's his problem, not ours. He will pay. And Judge Kaplan will use sentencing mechanisms to ensure he pays. And in fact, in order to sustain the appeal, he must post at least a bond of 20% of the amount,” Kaplan continued.
Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, believes Trump will be forced to pay up, possibly by selling property or taking out a loan
E. Jean Carroll plans to use the loaned money for a positive cause. She is seen leaving a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Friday following the conclusion of her defamation lawsuit
“Money is important to him,” Kaplan said. “And that’s a lot of money for Donald Trump.” And I don’t think he wants another verdict of the same amount.”
It could take up to a year for the money to come in, but Carroll, 80, is already planning how she will spend her damages.
“I'm not going to waste a dime of it.” “We're going to do something good with it,” she told the New York Times, joking that she would spoil her dogs.
“I will now be able to buy premium dog food,” she said. “You know, me and the dogs will get along just fine in our cabin, but we're going to do something great with this money.”
Trump did not directly target Carroll at his Nevada rally, in Saturday's Truth Social post, or in Friday's statement that “our legal system is out of control.”
However, Carroll is cautious when asked whether the matter is finally settled.
Former US President Donald Trump watches as his lawyer makes closing arguments in the second civil trial against E. Jean Carroll
E. Jean Carroll hugs her team after the verdict was read at the end of the civil trial in which she accused the former president of raping her decades ago
“I can't possibly guess what Donald Trump will or won't do.” “I can't guess,” she told the Times.
A day after her victory, Carroll said the reality was only now becoming clear.
“It was so overwhelming yesterday. I couldn't feel the elation. “This morning, around 8 or 9 o'clock, as I was drinking my first cup of tea, I really felt calm enough to feel what we had accomplished,” she said.
Carroll says the verdict is a verdict for all women.
“This victory, more than anything, when we needed it most – after we had lost rights to our own bodies in many states – we planted our flag in the ground here.” Women won here. I think that bodes well for the future.”
Carroll alleged that Trump raped her in the 1990s and described in detail how he attacked her in a department store dressing room.
As the trial reached its climax on Friday, jurors needed just three hours of deliberations to take away some of that power on Friday
“I was terrified — for weeks,” Carroll said, but somehow she managed to calm down.
“When you actually face the man, he is just a man with no clothes. It’s the people around him that give him the power.”
Trump criticized the verdict minutes after the jury awarded him $83.3 million in damages
The defamation trial ended in dramatic fashion Friday when a jury awarded Carroll $60 million more in damages than it expected.
Last year, a civil jury found Trump guilty of sexually abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store.
After she wrote about the alleged encounter in 2019, Trump, who has since been elected president, told reporters he had no idea who Carroll was, that her accusation was “completely false” and that she was motivated by desire was to sell books.
Carroll then sued Trump for defamation in 2019, saying his statements about her were false and had damaged her reputation.
It was these later comments that motivated her decision to sue Trump for defamation.
She also sued him over things he said about her after he left the White House.
Trump has not been criminally charged. However, the civil verdict has led many to mistakenly believe he was convicted of sexually assaulting Carroll.
Donald Trump is seen leaving the court on Friday before the verdict is announced
E. Jean Carroll, in white, is seen leaving court in Manhattan on Friday evening with her friends and legal team
Legal experts believe Trump has promised to appeal but will ultimately have to pay Carroll
Trump was ordered to pay the amount because he accused Carroll of lying when she accused him of sexually abusing her and always maintained that he had never met her.
The large damages awarded Friday surprised even Carroll, who burst into tears and hugged her legal team as she won tens of millions more than expected.
Carroll and her attorneys, Kaplan and Shawn Crowley, looked at each other excitedly as the judge asked what the “m” on the jury verdict form meant.
“Millions,” the foreman replied.
She and her legal team then calmed down as the judge concluded the proceedings – while Trump's legal team appeared stunned and stone-faced.
The former president has already said he will appeal the ruling, calling the case a “Biden-directed witch hunt.”
Donald Trump defense attorney Alina Habba said she was “proud” to defend the former president, who was swept up in the justice system following the $83.3 million verdict against E. Jean Carroll
After the verdict, Trump told Truth Social that the trial was proof that there was “no justice left in America.”
He derided the verdict as “absolutely ridiculous,” adding: “Our justice system is broken and unfair!”
“I strongly disagree with both rulings and will appeal this entire Biden-led witch hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” he continued.
“Our legal system is out of control and is being used as a political weapon.” They have taken away all First Amendment rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!' He offered no evidence that President Biden prompted Carroll's decision to seek damages after Trump called her a liar and a “complete idiot.”
He posted another angry post later on Friday evening. “There is no justice in America anymore. Our justice system is broken and unfair!” he posted.
While her client announced the verdict from a catwalk, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba delivered a scathing critique of the trial from the courthouse steps, taking a dig at the justice system she sees as “armed.”
“I have no qualms about representing President Trump,” Habba told reporters in an impassioned speech as she left federal court in Manhattan, shortly after the damages demands were read in court.
“It’s the proudest thing I’ve ever been able to do,” she added. “I've been in court in this state for months … and now we're seeing what you get in New York.”
“I'm so proud to stand with President Trump.” But I'm not proud to stand by what I saw in that courtroom.
“Before I went to trial, this judge ruled that we were not allowed to present every single defense that President Trump had to the jury.”
“It’s in writing and I encourage journalists, real journalists, to take a minute to look at his orders.”