DEVELOPING: Federal Jury Issues Verdict in Trump Rape and Defamation Case. “A federal jury on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump liable of sexual abuse and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll after she filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape. He was ordered to pay over $5 million in damages. The jury deliberated for only three hours before reaching a decision, which was announced in court shortly after 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The trial centered around Carroll’s allegations that Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s, and she is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.”