
Federal appeals court upholds sexual abuse case against Trump
CNN
A federal appeals court upheld the jury’s verdict finding Donald Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and denied his request for a new trial.
A federal appeals court upheld the jury’s verdict finding Donald Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and denied his request for a new trial. Trump challenged the $5 million civil verdict alleging the trial judge made numerous errors, including allowing testimony of two other women who claimed Trump sexually assaulted them. The appeals court concluded the trial judge didn’t abuse his discretion in ruling on evidence. Even if he made any errors, they said, given the strength of Carroll’s case, they are not persuaded Trump’s rights were affected to warrant a new trial. “Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments,” said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney. A separate jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million after finding Trump defamed her by denying the sexual abuse. Trump has also appealed that verdict. Carroll alleged Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store and then defamed her when he denied her claim, said she wasn’t his type and suggested she made up the story to boost sales of her book. Trump denied all wrongdoing. He does not face any jail time as a result of the civil verdict.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

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