A jury made up of six men and three women found Donald Trump liable for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll. They did not find Trump liable for raping Carroll.

Asked on their verdict sheet if Carroll, 79, had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump raped Ms. Carroll,” the nine-person jury checked the box that said “no.” Asked if Carroll had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll,” the jury checked the box that said “yes.” Both allegations were elements of Carroll’s battery claim.

The six men and three women also found Trump had defamed her by calling her claims a “hoax” and “a con job.”

Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, has consistently denied Carroll’s claims. The jury verdict carries no criminal implications…

Carroll was her own star witness at the trial, which began April 25. “I’m here because Trump raped me,” she told jurors during her three days on the witness stand.

I wrote about Carroll’s testimony in the case here. She gave a detailed account of her meeting with Trump in a New York department store. Her friend Lisa Birnbach later testified that Carroll had told her about the incident shortly after it happened.

Ms. Birnbach testified that she was in her kitchen feeding her children dinner at around 6 p.m. in the spring of 1996 when she got a call from Ms. Carroll.

“She said, ‘Lisa, you are not going to believe what happened to me,’” Ms. Birnbach testified. She said Ms. Carroll sounded “breathless, hyperventilating, emotional.”

As she listened to the story, Ms. Birnbach said she found it surprising Ms. Carroll had visited the lingerie department with Mr. Trump. “I thought it was kind of nutty,” she said.

“E. Jean said to me many times, ‘He pulled down my tights, he pulled down my tights,’ almost like she couldn’t believe it,” Ms. Birnbach testified about the call. She described how Ms. Carroll told her that Mr. Trump penetrated her with his penis.

Today, Carroll was awarded $3 million for the defamation and $2 million for the battery charge. Because this was a civil trial and not a criminal one the standard used was different.

Instead, Ms. Carroll sued Mr. Trump for battery and defamation.

That means the jury was asked to determine Mr. Trump’s “liability” — whether Mr. Trump is legally responsible for harming Ms. Carroll in ways that meet New York State’s definition of battery.

The jurors began their deliberations just before noon on Tuesday. Their verdicts must be unanimous.

To have Mr. Trump found liable for battery, Ms. Carroll must clear a lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of a criminal trial. Instead, jurors must find that the “preponderance of the evidence” supports Ms. Carroll’s claim to have been raped, sexually abused or forcibly touched by Mr. Trump, meaning the jury believes the accusation is more likely true than untrue.

The AP has Carroll’s reaction to the verdict.

Carroll nodded as the verdict was read. Afterward, her lawyers put their arms around her, and she hugged supporters in the gallery, smiling through tears.

Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying.

Trump’s team released a statement from a spokesperson for the former president followed by a list of sources intended to back up his claim that the verdict was driven by politics.

Trump’s team is out with a lengthy document responding to the Carroll verdict, starting with a statement from a Trump spox: pic.twitter.com/1R0tuCMP4t

— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) May 9, 2023

Here’s the portion with his statement from the spokesperson. You can click on the tweet above to see the rest of the release. It begins, “The Democratic Party’s never-ending witch-hunt of President Trump hit a new low today. In jurisdictions wholly controlled by the Democratic Party our nation’s justice system is now compromised by extremist left-wing politics.”

Trump has also issued his own statement on Truth Social.

JUST IN: Trump responds to E. Jean Carroll rape case verdict.

"I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!" pic.twitter.com/SPuI2Z5nKH

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 9, 2023

After the verdict, Carroll and her attorney left the courthouse and got into a car without saying anything to the media. Trump’s attorney, Tacopina, did speak to the media afterwards at a different location outside.

Tacopina: Part of me was obviously very happy that Donald Trump was not branded a rapist, I didn't think there should be any liability findings pic.twitter.com/lMvZ2zppYf

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 9, 2023

He also said Trump was moving forward, including a townhall on CNN tomorrow.

Tacopina: He’s got a town hall tomorrow night. He’s moving forward as he always does pic.twitter.com/XUk6VWgX1W

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 9, 2023

The media was asking him questions about the case and what happens next. Meanwhile a small group of protesters, maybe half a dozen, arrived and started shouting. He left shortly that started. I can’t cue this up so you’ll have to skip ahead to the end to hear what he said and what the protesters were saying.