E. Jean Carroll elated at verdict that Trump sexually abused her

FILE PHOTO: 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/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Former Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll said on Wednesday she felt "fantastic" after a jury a day earlier found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her, and awarded her $5 million in damages in her civil lawsuit against the former U.S. president.

The verdict in Manhattan federal court represented a fresh legal setback for Trump as he seeks to regain the presidency in 2024. It also provided vindication for Carroll, 79, who in 2019 publicly accused Trump, 76, of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.