Good morning. When E Jean Carroll, a magazine writer, came forward to describe how she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump in a Manhattan department store in 1996, Trump called her claim “a complete con job” and accused her of making it up to sell books. But yesterday, a New York jury – in a civil, rather than criminal, case – disagreed. They found that he was liable for sexual abuse and defamation – and ordered him to pay her $5 million in damages.
The jury did not find that Trump had raped Carroll, as she alleged. But it said that he was shown by a preponderance of the evidence to have sexually abused her, and then told a malicious falsehood about her that did serious damage to her reputation. After years of credible allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump, yesterday’s verdict is the first time that a court has said that such a claim has been proven to be true.
Step back from the circus that invariably surrounds Trump and his behaviour, and the fact that the leading Republican candidate for president has been found by a jury to have been liable for sexual abuse – defined as subjecting a victim to sexual contact by physical force – appears extraordinary. Today’s newsletter explains the complex legal process that led to this point, and what it might mean for Trump’s prospects of returning to the White House. Here are the headlines.
Five big stories
Science | The first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born after a groundbreaking IVF procedure that aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases. The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female donors to create embryos free from harmful mutations carried by their mothers.
Pakistan | Internet services have been suspended across Pakistan after violence erupted when the former prime minister, Imran Khan, was arrested at a court appearance in Islamabad and dragged into an armoured vehicle by security forces in riot gear. Khan’s arrest came after he repeated allegations that Pakistan’s powerful military establishment had tried to assassinate him twice.
UK news | One of the UK’s most prominent business leaders, the Tesco chair John Allan, faces claims of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour from four women, the Guardian can reveal. John Allan denies allegations of inappropriate touching and remarks in three cases but apologised for comments about a woman’s appearance at a CBI conference in 2019.
Protest | Conservative MPs have condemned the use of new laws to hold anti-monarchy protesters for up to 16 hours during the coronation after the Metropolitan police admitted “regrets” over some of the arrests. Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer declined to say whether he would tear up the public order bill under which six members of the protest group Republic were arrested.
Brazil | Brazilian politicians, celebrities and social activists have paid tribute to the vivacious, loving and combative former congressman and campaigner David Miranda, who has died in Rio de Janeiro aged 37. The death of Miranda, also a columnist for Guardian US, was announced by his husband, the American journalist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald.
In depth: ‘He lied and shattered my reputation. I’m here to try and get my life back’
E Jean Carroll (above), a writer and advice columnist, first went public with her accusations against Donald Trump in 2019, in the aftermath of the revelations about Harvey Weinstein that sparked the #MeToo movement. In a book excerpt published in New York magazine, Carroll wrote that after a chance encounter at the Bergdorf Goodman department store, Trump forced her against a wall and pulled down her tights before pressing his fingers into her vagina and raping her.
She had never come forward before, she said, having seen the treatment handed out to other victims and concluding that it “never sounded like much fun”. And, she said, “I run the risk of making him more popular by revealing what he did.”
Because the statute of limitations had expired, there was no prospect of Trump facing criminal charges over her allegations. But last year, New York state passed the Adult Survivors Act, allowing victims a one-year window to file a sexual assault lawsuit over older cases. That is how the case wound up in a Manhattan courtroom for the last two weeks.
***
The case against Trump – and what the jury said
Again, the trial in New York was a civil rather than criminal case – which means that Trump faces only a financial sanction and has not been convicted of anything. Carroll’s lawsuit sought damages for battery – a technical term for her claims that he “forcibly raped and groped” her – as well as for defamation after he responded to her 2019 allegations by calling her a liar. A summary of the key evidence heard by the jury is here.
Carroll told the jury: “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation. I’m here to try and get my life back.”
The jury was asked to reach a decision on the basis of the “preponderance of evidence” standard that applies in civil cases – that is, that the claims were more likely to be true than false. (You can see how her lawyer defined that here.) The judge told them to put “beyond reasonable doubt” out of their minds.
The jury of six men and three women found that Carroll had not proved rape by that standard. But they said that she had shown that Trump had sexually abused her, and that she was injured by his conduct.
They also found that Trump defamed her by claiming that her allegations were a hoax. And they ordered him to pay her just over $2 million in damages over sexual abuse, and almost $3 million over the defamation.
In a piece from inside the courtroom, Chris McGreal wrote that after the verdict, Carroll “stopped, on the edge of tears, to hug friends and supporters at the front of the public gallery. Then she walked into a small conference room with her legal team where, finally, they could let out cries of delight.”
***
E Jean Carroll’s evidence
In her testimony, Carroll gave a detailed account of the incident, and how it has affected her life. Ever since, she said, she has found it impossible even to smile at a man she was attracted to, adding: “It left me unable to ever have a romantic life again.”
Carroll’s case was bolstered by evidence from two friends of hers confirming her account that she had immediately told them about the incident. Another significant plank of Carroll’s case was the evidence from two other women who say that they were sexually assaulted by Trump, Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds, who described incidents of forcible groping and kissing 36 years apart.
The jury were also played the infamous Access Hollywood tape, made public during the 2016 election campaign, in which Trump said: “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything … Grab ‘em by the pussy.” Carroll’s lawyer argued that the evidence revealed that Trump was a “predator” with a “playbook” for sexual assault.
***
Trump’s evidence
Despite claiming that Carroll was the perpetrator of a malicious hoax against him, and saying on a visit to Scotland that he was “going to go back and I’m going to confront this woman”, Trump did not testify in the case. Nor did his lawyer, Joseph Tacopina (above), call any witnesses. Tacopina claimed that this was because “Donald Trump doesn’t have a story to tell here, other than to say it’s a lie.”
While Trump didn’t appear in person, the jury did see footage from a deposition he gave in the case. (You can watch it here.) He denied Carroll’s accusations by saying that she was “not his type” – but also mistook her in a photograph for his ex-wife, Marla Maples. Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan – who Trump volunteered was also “not his type” – suggested that his confusion undermined his claim that he was not attracted to Carroll. On his remarks in the Access Hollywood tape that famous men can grab women’s genitals, Trump said that “historically, that’s true with stars … unfortunately or fortunately”, and said that he considers himself a star. Roberta Kaplan said he had effectively been “a witness against himself”.
When cross-examining Carroll, Tacopina took an approach which Chris McGreal wrote had “raised more than a few eyebrows in the legal community and left some spectators in court aghast”, casting doubt on the plausibility of her evidence not to have screamed or have called the police. Carroll replied: “One of the reasons women don’t come forward is because they’re always asked: ‘Why didn’t you scream?’ Some women scream. Some women don’t. It keeps women silent.”
***
The consequences for Trump’s political career
In 2016, Trump famously boasted: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Now a version of that question appears central to his prospects of another shot at the White House.
In the aftermath of the verdict yesterday, Trump’s supporters variously focused on the fact that he had not been found liable for rape, ridiculed the standard of proof applied in the case (as is quite typical in civil suits), and made dark claims of political conspiracy. Trump himself claimed that he got “treated very badly by the Clinton-appointed judge”, called the case “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time”, and said he has “no idea who this woman is”.
Trump is now likely to appeal, though most legal analysts see few plausible grounds to do so. The first live forum in which he is likely to face questions over the case comes tonight, in a town hall event for CNN.
Given Trump already has a variety of other legal cases hanging over him, and has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in the past, it seems unlikely that his avowed supporters will see much in the verdicts to persuade them to change their minds. Even his rivals for the nomination will likely perform verbal gymnastics to avoid directly criticising him over the outcome, lest they alienate the Republican base.
There was “no chorus of Democrats and Republicans calling for Trump, 76, to drop out of the primary”, David Smith writes in his analysis. Trump is seven points ahead of Joe Biden in the most recent poll. But there is already plenty of electoral evidence that swing voters have been put off by the allegations that have long been attached to him – and the jury’s finding in this case is arguably the most concrete proof of bad character that he has ever had to face.
What else we’ve been reading
Barbara Speed’s piece on our collective obsession with having the right kind of sleep is incisive. She points out that getting a good night’s sleep is usually not a result of personal will but rather because of physical conditions or economic inequality: “Our sleep reflects not the bedtime tea we drink or what type of light our phone screen emits, but what is demanded of us in our waking lives.” Nimo
After the leader of anti-monarchist group Republic Graham Smith was arrested at the coronation, he’s bullish in this interview with Daniel Boffey: “If they were trying to diminish our publicity in order to enhance theirs, it massively backfired, in a spectacular way.” Archie
Andrew Gumbel’s dispatch from Los Angeles makes for bewildering reading as he unpacks the blunders that led to the LAPD publicly releasing the names and photos of 9,000 cops, including undercover officers working on dangerous assignments. Nimo
Jon Henley has a very useful explainer on this weekend’s election in Turkey – where Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is facing a serious challenge to his decades-long tenure as president. And Ruth Michaelson and Deniz Barış Narlı report on the mood in Antalya: “Even if the price of onions reaches 1bn lira, our choice won’t change,” one voter says. “Always Erdoğan.” Archie
ICYMI: The Atlantic’s Caitlin Dickerson won a Pulitzer prize this week for her meticulously detailed 2022 investigation into how the US government’s family separation policy at the southern border materialised, tracing its inception all the way back to 9/11. Nimo
Sport
Football | A stunning second-half goal from Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Vinícius Júnior’s opener to leave the semi-final poised at 1-1 before the second leg in Manchester next week. Barney Ronay wrote that despite Erling Haaland’s impact, De Bruyne “is still City’s best, most forceful, most alluring creative player”.
Rugby | The Rugby Football Union has banned Alex Murphy, a distinguished former council member, from Twickenham for making racist comments including using the N-word during a Six Nations match last year. The news comes just after an investigation by the Rugby Football Union that concluded that racism exists at every level of the game in England.
Cricket | Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League season and is returning to England to improve his chances of participating in the Ashes. Ali Martin writes that “there are few more alluring fast bowlers” than Archer – but now “concerns over his involvement in the Ashes are inevitable”.
The front pages
Wednesday’s front pages are dominated by the news of advice columnist E Jean Carroll’s court victory over former US president Donald Trump. The Guardian leads with “Trump sexually abused writer in 1990s, New York jury finds,” and the Telegraph has an almost identical headline: “Trump sexually assaulted writer, US jury finds”. The Daily Mail has a slightly different angle with “Is this the end of Trump’s new bid to be president?” while the Daily Mirror baldly states “Trump the sex attacker”.
The Times splashes on “Britain set to blacklist Russia’s Wagner group”. The top story in the Financial Times is “Blood-scandal compensation scheme expected to cost taxpayer up to £10bn”. The Metro looks back on Russia’s Victory parade, labelling it “Stark raving Vlad,” while the i says it has an exclusive with “Archbishop clashes with No 10 on migration”.
Today in Focus
Did distress calls go unanswered in the run-up to a fatal Channel disaster?
In November 2021 a dinghy crossing from France to the UK overturned, and at least 27 people drowned. Questions are being asked over whether distress calls were effectively ignored in run-up to worst Channel disaster in 30 years
Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
The 90s are enjoying another resurgence and this time one of the most beloved toys of the era is getting a refresh: the Tamagotchi. The keychain-sized gaming devices instantly exploded in popularity 30 years ago, but disappeared from the playground just as quickly. Now they are back in the form of Peridot, from Pokémon Go creator Niantic.
Players are invited to hatch and care for their own unique digital pet, just like a Tamagotchi, but this time it works via an augmented reality app, meaning that your new friend appears in your real-world surroundings – so you can take it for walks in the park or play with it in your home.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
