Topics: Crime, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A journalist and author who won a civil sexual abuse case against Donald Trump has taken to social media claiming to have received a Valentine’s Day 'love letter' from his administration.
E. Jean Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit against the president in 2019, during Trump’s first term, after he rejected her allegation that he raped her in the 1990s.
Carroll said she encountered Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in New York in the mid-1990s and that he assaulted her in a dressing room.
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A jury found Trump, 79, liable for sexual abuse in 2023. Carroll, 82, was eventually awarded $88.3 million in damages over Trump's repeated defamatory remarks about her, per Supreme Court documents.
Trump maintained he had never met her, despite photographs from the late 1980s showing them together, and he denied the claims throughout, calling the case a 'witch hunt' and saying Carroll was 'not my type'.
R Martin Law Group explains that civil liability 'involves conflicts between private individuals, entities, or businesses'.
It adds: "The goal is to compensate for harm, loss, or injury one party experiences due to another’s actions.
"Essentially, civil law helps wronged individuals or groups obtain compensation and resolve private grievances amicably."
In a civil case, jurors need to decide if allegations are true based on the balance of probabilities, i.e. they are more likely to be true than untrue.
In a criminal case, jurors are asked if allegations can be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
On Saturday (14 February), Carroll shared an email she received from a political action committee (PAC) associated with the president.
The subject line read 'Is everything OK', and the sender appeared as 'Secret Admirer Donald J. Trump'.
"Roses are red, violets are blue. Do you still love Trump, as I love you?" the email from the PAC Never Surrender Inc. says.
"Before you read my letter – do you still love me and our great movement?" the email adds, along with a photo of Trump putting a Valentine's Day card in a letterbox.
"I love you, and I was pretty sure you loved me back! Is everything ok?"
Reacting to the message, Carroll posted on Twitter: "Yes. This is a real email. No. I did not sign up on this mailing list. Yes. We are living in a crazy world."
The message appears to be part of an automated email campaign that has been saturating inboxes in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.
How Carroll came to receive one of the fundraising emails remains unclear, given that she stated she had not signed up for them.
Never Surrender Inc., Trump’s leadership campaign group, has sent a string of similar emails across February, pitching them as 'love letters' to drum up donations.
Tyla has reached out to the White House for comment.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
