Trump angrily lashes out at 'Clinton appointed judge' in defamation case

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out against the judge in the case in which he was found liable for battery and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll and ordered to pay the plaintiff $5 million.

Trump, who is expected to appeal the verdict but will likely face more scrutiny due to his failure to provide a direct defense in the civil case, initially responded by saying he didn't know Carroll. Hours, later, he said such a verdict was expected in part because the judge was reportedly appointed by Bill Clinton.

"WHAT ELSE CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A TRUMP HATING, CLINTON APPOINTED JUDGE, WHO WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESULT WAS AS NEGATIVE AS IT COULD POSSIBLY BE, SPEAKING TO, AND IN CONTROL OF, A JURY FROM AN ANTI-TRUMP AREA WHICH IS PROBABLY THE WORST PLACE IN THE U.S. FOR ME TO GET A FAIR 'TRIAL,'" Trump wrote on his own social media platform.

Carroll, 79, sued Trump last year, alleging that he raped her in the changing room of the luxury Bergdorf Goodman store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in 1996.

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The former columnist for Elle magazine also claimed that Trump defamed her when he called her "a complete con job" after she went public with the allegation in 2019.

Trump, the 76-year-old frontrunner for the Republican nomination in next year's presidential election, called her case a "hoax" and "a lie."

The jury determined that Carroll had proved sexual abuse -- effectively sexual contact without consent -- by a preponderance of the evidence and awarded her $2 million.

The six men and three women on the jury also said Trump should pay Carroll nearly $3 million for defamation.

Following the verdict, Carroll left the Manhattan federal court smiling but did not speak to reporters.

"We're very happy," said her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan.

Around a dozen women accused Trump of sexual misconduct ahead of the 2016 election that sent him to the White House.

He has denied all the allegations and has never been prosecuted over any of them. No criminal case can stem from Carroll's lawsuit.

With additional reporting by AFP