Donald Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to a journalist who accused him of rape

A New York jury has upheld columnist and writer Elizabeth Jean Carroll's libel suit against former US President Donald Trump and ordered the politician to pay her $83.3 million.

Carroll went to court over Trump calling her a liar after she accused him of harassment. The compensation included $11 million for damage to the columnist's reputation, $7.3 million for emotional harm and $65 million in punitive damages, CNN reports.

The ex-president intends to appeal the jury's decision. It is noteworthy that he did not wait for the verdict to be announced and left the courthouse before the verdict was delivered. He later wrote on Truth Social that he thought the jury's decision was "absolutely ridiculous." Trump's lawyer argues that the real reason his client is being prosecuted is because he is leading in the election polls. Carroll commented: “This is a great victory for every woman who gets up when she is knocked down, and a great defeat for every bully who tries to hold a woman down.”

Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in the fitting room of the luxury Bergdorf Goodman department store on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan in the spring of 1996. She managed to obtain compensation in the amount of $5 million through the court, although the politician was found guilty not of rape, but of harassment. Nevertheless, Trump continued to deny all accusations against him and even called Carroll “crazy,” which served as the basis for a new lawsuit.