Former U.S. President Donald Trump is found guilty of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll on May 9, 2023. In November 2019, Carroll filed a lawsuit under the “New York State Adult Survivors Act,” holding Trump accountable for raping and attacking her in the Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1996. 

Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina claims that the timing of the exposure of this scandal is a strategy to use fabricated stories to block Trump’s election campaign. Trump publicly called Carroll’s case as “a complete con job” and “a hoax and a lie.” 

Along with Carroll, there are several other witnesses who stood out and held Trump accountable for similar crimes. Jessica Leeds, a former stockbroker, testified that Trump had forcibly grouped her and kissed her without consent in 1970. 

Natasha Stoynoff, a former People Magazine reporter, was insulted by Trump similarly. These women decided to testify after Trump has publicly lied to his people about “never kissing a woman without consent.” 

In fact, Trump’s reputation has been tainted since the notorious Stormy Daniels case during his presidency. In 2018, adult film actress Stephanie Gregory Clifford, widely known as Stormy Daniels, filed a lawsuit accusing Trump of using campaign payment to illegally pay Daniels into signing the non-disclosure agreement denying the fact that they had an affair. This case includes both charges against alleged extramarital affair and violation of the federal campaign finance laws. However, not only did Trump deny these charges, he claimed that he did not ask his lawyer Michael Cohen to pay off Daniels. Trump has always had the reputation of getting away with legal consequences of the various accusations he has been held accountable for. 

On May 8, Trump waived his right to testify at the trial where Carroll accuses him of rape and defamation and opted not to present a defense, trusting that the jurors would consider Carroll’s case as unpersuasive. However, Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan has found evidence supporting Carroll’s accusations, one being the 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump claimed that women had let him  “grab ’em by the pussy.”

“It’s the most ridiculous, disgusting story,” Trump said to the public. “It’s just made up.” However, his words are perhaps the least reliable source, considering his previous records. On May 9, the Manhattan jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and awarded her $5 million. Perhaps this case will not have a huge impact on Trump’s presidential campaign, but his notoriety for lying and disrespecting women has certainly cost him the public trust.