A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found former President Donald J. Trump liable for the sexual abuse of the magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in a widely watched civil trial that sought to apply the accountability of the #MeToo era to a dominant political figure.
The federal jury of six men and three women also held Mr. Trump, 76, liable for defaming Ms. Carroll when he posted a statement on his Truth Social website in October, calling her case “a complete con job” and “a Hoax and a lie.”
The jury determined that Carroll had proven Mr. Trump sexually abused her, but they rejected the accusation that she had been raped. Sexual abuse is defined in New York as subjecting someone to sexual contact without their consent.
I’m not going to tell you this isn’t about politics. It absolutely is. The frontrunner for the GOP nomination has a sexual abuse judgment on his record. That should mean something, and it’s more than fair for Democrats — and even some Republican primary challengers, if they have the fortitude — to make endless hay of it.
At the same time: It’s not just politics.
E. Jean Carroll went through a horrible experience. And eventually, she had to relive that horrible experience over and again for the entire world to see. Today’s verdict grants her some bit of compensation for having been through all of that, but it probably doesn’t make her whole.
She had to hear texts in which Martin vents about Carroll read into the record. Seemingly resentful of being dragged into a lawsuit, Martin called Carroll a “narcissist” and said she was acting “scary” and “loving the adulation.” Never mind that this cuts against the idea of Martin as an eager conspirator. No one wants to hear cruel things their friends have said about them privately made public.
And, of course, Carroll, like several of the women who testified for her, had to abide insinuations that she’s a mendacious fantasist. She had to explain why she didn’t scream or go to the police, and even why she kept returning to Bergdorf Goodman if she’d had such a horrifying experience there. At one point one of her attorneys asked if she ever regretted going public. “About five times a day,” she said, and I can believe it.
So yeah. Hammer Trump over the head with this verdict every chance you get. Never tire of reminding voters that he isn’t just the inciter of violent insurrections, but that he’s an ugly, gross brute who forces himself on women. Run a million commercials if you have to.
Just don’t forget about this woman who had to endure it. Say a prayer for her, even. She isn’t just a tool for your politics.