**NEWS ALERT**
**WHO:** E. Jean Carroll, a 79-year-old author and former advice columnist for *Elle* magazine.
**WHAT:** A federal appeals court has upheld a crucial portion of the civil judgment against Donald J. Trump, finding him liable for over $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation against Ms. Carroll.
**WHERE:** The ruling was delivered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting in New York City.
**WHEN:** The appellate decision was issued today, affirming the jury verdict from a lower court trial held in May 2023.
**WHY:** The court rejected Mr. Trump's arguments challenging the jury's finding that he sexually abused Ms. Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, and that he subsequently defamed her by denying the incident and calling her accusation a "hoax" and a "con job." The three-judge panel determined the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict.
**MORE CONTEXT:** This ruling is a significant legal defeat for the former president, as it maintains the financial penalty and public findings of liability. Mr. Trump has indicated he intends to appeal the decision further. Ms. Carroll issued a statement calling the decision a "victory for every woman who has been silenced."
**STATUS:** The case is not yet fully resolved in the federal system, as a separate trial on a second set of Carroll defamation claims, related to statements Trump made in 2019, is currently under appeal following a separate $83.3 million jury verdict.