Former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who in January received an $83.3 million jury award in her defamation suit against Donald Trump, said last week that she planned to “do good” with the money, The Hill reported.
In a January 29 interview on “CNN This Morning,” Carroll was asked what she planned to do with the massive damages Trump was ordered to pay her for defaming her in 2019 after she first alleged that he raped her in the 1990s.
Carroll said the former president’s niece Mary Trump had suggested she convert Trump Tower in Manhattan into an animal sanctuary, adding that she was “inspired to not waste a penny of this.”
Carroll said she and her attorneys had “some good ideas that we’re working on.”
When asked what those good ideas might be, Carroll said she planned to use some of the jury award to “restore women their rights.”
Describing her court victory as a win “for every woman who stood up” after being “knocked down,” Carroll said she and her attorney Roberta Kaplan “planted our flag” and wanted to “make sure that women are believed.”
January’s trial was Carroll’s second defamation trial against Donald Trump.
In a trial last spring, Carroll sued Trump under a New York State law that gave victims of assault one year in which to sue their attacker in civil court long after the statute of limitations expired.
In early May, the jury awarded Carroll $5 million after concluding that Trump abused and defamed her.
The trial in January involved comments Trump made in 2019 after Carroll first accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The judge in the case had already determined that Trump’s comments were defamatory and the trial was only for the jury to determine damages.
Donald Trump has already vowed to appeal the $83.3 million judgment.
In light of a possible appeal, Carroll may not see a cent of the jury award for months or even years, if at all.
