On Tuesday afternoon, after deliberating for about three hours, a Manhattan jury returned a verdict on the question of whether Donald Trump raped E. Jean Carroll and lied about it. Jurors found Trump guilty of both charges of battery and defamation, ruling that he had “sexually abused” Carroll, but stopped short of confirming her rape claim.
The jury also awarded Carroll $5 million in damages—neither a ruinous payout for Trump nor an insignificant sum.
But the monetary outcome of the trial is a minor facet of Carroll’s victory. She has devoted the last few years of her life to a thankless task: repeatedly reliving a painful memory in public while one of the most famous and influential men in the world whipped up his rabid fanbase against her. Dozens of women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct; Carroll’s case, the only lawsuit that made it to court, came to stand in for them all.
This was a civil trial, not a criminal one, so Trump is not a convicted sexual assailant. But for the first time, a court of law has assessed the credibility of the former president against that of one of his accusers. A jury listened to the testimony of three women who said Trump forced himself on them. A judge allowed the Access Hollywood tape as evidence. The verdict, as obvious as it may seem—how many people believe Trump to be an honest man who disapproves of sexual assault?—was not merely a judgment on Carroll’s claim. It was an official statement about his pattern of lies and mistreatment of women, and the imposition of an official consequence. Now, finally, he’s being fined $5 million for what he’s done.
This verdict will not end Trump’s political career, right any of the wrongs of his presidential administration, or land a blow against any of the destructive American impulses that led him to power. It probably won’t do much, if anything, to dim his popularity on the right. (It might even boost it.) But it is a heartening victory for a woman who made sure that this one particular powerful man did not get away with this one particular sliver of despicable behavior. In that way, it’s a victory for all of us.
Read more Slate coverage of the trial
