New York, May 9 (Reuters) - Jurors decided on Tuesday that Donald Trump sexually abused magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s and then defamed her by calling her a liar. This gives the former president of the United States a legal setback as he campaigns for reelection in 2024.

Advertisement Continue reading The nine-member jury in the federal court in Manhattan awarded approximately $5 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

A little under three hours were spent by the jury debating. It dismissed Trump's forswearing that he attacked Carroll and administered in support of herself. A unanimous verdict from the jury of six men and three women was required to find him liable.

Advertisement Continue reading Carroll, 79, testified during the civil trial that Trump, 76, raped her in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in either 1995 or 1996. She then hurt her reputation by writing on his Truth Social platform in October 2022 that her claims were a "complete con job," "a hoax," and "a lie."

Trump will be president from 2017 to 2021. According to opinion polls, he is the front-runner for the Republican nomination. He has demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to weather controversies that could sink other politicians.

It appears to be improbable in America's energized political environment that the common decision will affect Trump's center allies, who view his lawful burdens as a component of a deliberate exertion by rivals to sabotage him.

"The people that are hostile to Best will stay that way, the center favorable to Best electors won't change, and the undecided ones I simply don't believe will be moved by this kind of thing," said Charlie Gerow, a conservative tactician in Pennsylvania.

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Any adverse consequence is probably going to be little and restricted to rural ladies and moderate conservatives, he said.

The jury had to decide whether Carroll had been raped, sexually abused, or forcibly touched by Trump, any of which would have satisfied her battery claim. They were asked separately if Carroll had been defamed by Trump.

Trump will not be prosecuted because this was a civil case. Carroll was looking for vague financial harms.

Trump's legitimate group selected not to introduce a safeguard, betting that members of the jury would find that Carroll had neglected to present a powerful defense.

Trump claimed Carroll, a registered Democrat and former columnist for Elle magazine, made up the allegations in an effort to boost sales of her 2019 memoir and harm him politically.

Carroll was required to prove her rape claim by "a preponderance of the evidence," which means more likely than not, rather than the higher standard used in criminal cases of "proof beyond a reasonable doubt," because the case was in civil court. To support her claim of defamation, Carroll was required to present "clear and convincing evidence."

The preliminary highlighted declaration from two ladies who said Trump physically attacked them many years prior.

Previous Individuals magazine columnist Natasha Stoynoff let members of the jury know that Trump cornered her at his Blemish a-Lago club in Florida in 2005 and effectively kissed her for a "couple of moments" until a steward intruded on the supposed attack. Jessica Leeds, another woman, testified that Trump kissed her, groped her, and held his hand up to her skirt while they were traveling in 1979.

Additionally, the jury heard portions of a 2005 "Access Hollywood" video in which Trump claims that women allow him to "grab 'em by the pussy."

In a video deposition that was played in court in October 2022, Trump stated, "Historically, that's true, with stars... if you look over the last million years." He has repeatedly denied sexual misconduct allegations.

Carroll's legal advisor, Roberta Kaplan, told attendants during shutting contentions on Monday that the 2005 video was proof that Trump had attacked Carroll and different ladies.

On April 25, the federal trial began under the direction of U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is not related to Carroll's attorney. The judge made the decision to keep the jurors' names, addresses, and places of employment secret due to the unique nature of the civil case against a former president.

Carroll affirmed that she found Trump at Bergdorf's while he was looking for a gift for another lady. Carroll said she consented to assist with besting choose a gift and the two took a gander at unmentionables before he persuaded her into a changing area, pummeled her head into a wall, and assaulted her. Carroll testified that she was unable to recall the precise year or date of the alleged rape.

Trump's legal team questioned Carroll about the plausibility of her account, including why she hadn't called the police or screamed during the alleged incident.

Two of Carroll's friends said she told them about the alleged rape at the time, but she swore to keep it a secret because she was afraid Trump would use his fame and wealth to hurt her.

Carroll told legal hearers she chose to end her quietness in 2017 after assault charges against Hollywood maker Harvey Weinstein provoked scores of ladies to approach with records of sexual savagery by influential men. She made her account public while Trump was still in office.

She said Trump's public refusals destroyed her profession and impelled a mission of horrendous web-based badgering by his allies including different undermining messages and online entertainment posts.

Despite the fact that Trump did not testify duEven though the deposition in October 2022 showed him mistaking Carroll for one of his former wives in a black-and-white photograph taken among a group of people at an event.

In the deposition, Trump said, "It's Marla," referring to Marla Maples, his second wife. Trump had previously stated that Carroll was not "his type," so he could not have raped her.

In fundraising emails for his campaign, Trump has cited the Carroll trial as evidence of what he believes is a Democratic plot to harm him politically.

After he was charged in March in New York with falsifying business records regarding a hush money payment to a porn star prior to his victory in the 2016 presidential election, his poll numbers increased.

He became the first president of the United States to be indicted on a criminal charge with that indictment, which was filed in state court in New York. Trump has said that the charges are politically motivated, pleading not guilty.