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E Jean Carroll has said she is “overwhelmed with joy” for women across America after former president Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.

In an interview with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie on the Today show, the 79-year-old said the court win was not about the millions she was awarded in damages, but securing a victory for all women.

“I am overwhelmed with joy and happiness and delight for the women in this country,” she said.

“This is not about the money. This is about getting my name back,” Carroll added.

The former US president was also found to have defamed Ms Carroll, but the civil trial rejected her claim she was raped during the encounter.

Trump, who is campaigning for the 2024 presidency, must pay the former Elle magazine advice columnist $5m (£4m) in damages.

He has consistently denied Carroll’s claims.

“I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace – a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time!” he wrote on his social media site, Truth Social, after the verdicts were handed down.

A Trump campaign spokesman said in a statement Tuesday: “This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.”

On what she would say to Mr Trump given the opportunity, Ms Carroll said she approached his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, at the conclusion of the case and let him know.

“Tacopina put out his hand and I said, ‘He did it and you know it.’ So I got my chance,” she recalled.

E. Jean Carroll reacts as she exits the Manhattan Federal Court following the verdict in the civil rape accusation case against former U.S. President Donald Trump, in New York City, U.S., May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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E Jean Carroll leaving Manhattan Federal Court following the verdict

Ms Carroll was alongside her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who said she was confident that her client will collect the damages from Mr Trump and that his team has no grounds for an appeal.

“I’ve rarely felt more confident about an appeal as I do about this one,” she said.

Ms Carroll claimed she bumped into Trump in a department store in Manhattan in 1995 or 1996 and that he ended up raping her in a changing room.

She also said he defamed her by claiming she made up the story.

The nine-person jury deliberated for just under three hours before finding him guilty on Tuesday.

Ms Kaplan said there was “no question” the jury was sending a clear message by awarding multimillion-dollar damages and reaching a verdict in a matter of hours.

In addition, Ms Carroll said that Trump’s refusal to testify had helped. “He didn’t even bother to show up,” she added.

Donald Trump responds to verdict of sexual abuse in civil trial
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Donald Trump has since responded to the verdict

Trump’s deposition, in which he was asked about the “Access Hollywood” tape that surfaced before the 2016 presidential election, also helped secure the victory, Ms Kaplan said.

Asked during the deposition about his remarks in the tape, Trump said, “Well, historically, that’s true with stars.”

“True with stars that they can grab women by their privates?” Ms Kaplan asked.

“Well, that’s what – if you look over the last million years, I guess that’s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately,” the former president responded.

Ms Kaplan also said in her Today interview that this was an important moment. “Fortunately? Who uses the word fortunately to talk about sexual assault?” she asked.

Read more:
Sexual abuse finding will resonate through presidential campaign
What other investigations is Trump facing?

Ms Carroll recalled the toll the case has taken on her for more than 30 years.

“Before yesterday, there was a concept of the perfect victim, who always screams, always reports to the police, always makes notes of when it happened, and their life folds up and they’re never supposed to be happy,” she said.

“Yesterday we demolished that concept, it is gone. It’s not so much about me, it’s about every woman.”

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Trump: ‘The most dangerous man I’ve ever met’

Reflecting on Trump’s repeated claim that he has no idea who she is, Ms Carroll noted that among the many legal issues the former president may face: “What happened yesterday is one… little blonde, wily, female attorney and one 79-year-old advice columnist beat Donald Trump in court.”

Mr Trump has promised to appeal on his Truth Social site, calling the outcome “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time”.

He claimed the judge was biased and made sure “the result was as negative as it could possibly be, speaking to, and in control of a jury from an anti-Trump area…”

Trump – who did not attend the trial and waived his right to testify or present a defence – has insisted he never sexually assaulted Ms Carroll or ever knew her.

The 76-year-old, who is hoping to retake the White House in 2024, will not have to pay the compensation as long as the case is on appeal.

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

Donald Trump has said his second state visit to the UK could take place in September.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed over an invitation from the King when he visited Washington in February.

Trump teases return to UK – latest updates

Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”

“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.

“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”

Sir Keir Starmer the Trump charmer.
Pic: PA
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA

Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.

The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.

His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.

Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

Read more from Sky News:
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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters

But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.

Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.

Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.

The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
Image:
Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne

In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.

“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.

More on Florida

He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.

As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.

Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.

She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”

Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.

Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

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US judge warns Trump administration could be in criminal contempt over El Salvador deportations

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White House rages at 'appalling' attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.

If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.

And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.

Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.

This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.

“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.

Executive vs judicial

This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.

Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.

Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.

Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.

It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.

‘Administrative error’

At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.

Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.

The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA / AP
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.

This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.

During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Image:
The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.

Democrat senator travels to El Salvador

Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.

“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.

Deportations have been an important part of Mr Trump’s second term, with him being vocal on the issue throughout the campaign trail and into office.

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