Donald Trump's lawyers seek to cut sex abuse jury award from $5M to under $1M
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump say a $5 million jury award for his sexual abuse and defamation of a columnist in a department store dressing room in 1996 should be slashed to less than $1 million
NEW YORK (AP) — The $5 million awarded to a columnist by a jury that concluded she was sexually abused in the 1990s by Donald Trump in a New York luxury department store should be reduced to less than $1 million, the former president's lawyers told a judge Thursday, saying the award was grossly excessive and based on “pure speculation.”
The lawyers noted in a written submission that a Manhattan federal court jury last month rejected a rape claim made by the writer, E. Jean Carroll, concluding instead that she had been sexually abused in spring 1996 in the store's dressing room.
“Such abuse could have included groping of Plaintiff's breasts through clothing, or similar conduct, which is a far cry from rape,” the lawyers wrote.
They said the $2 million granted by the jury on a sexual abuse claim was “grossly excessive” and another $2.7 million issued for compensatory defamation damages was "based upon pure speculation."
