Nikki Haley says ‘people need to make a decision’ on Trump defamation case
Ryan King
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Republican 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley opted not to wade into the potential ramifications former President Donald Trump’s liable verdict in a civil battery and defamation case could have on the Republican party.
On Tuesday, a New York jury determined Trump was liable for both defamation and sexual battery claims made by former gossip columnist E. Jean Carroll. The panel awarded her $5 million in damages, including $2 million for sexual abuse and $1.7 million for reputation repair damages. However, the jury did not find him liable for her allegations of rape.
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When asked if it “undermines” the Republican Party to have their 2024 front-runner found legally liable for sexual abuse, Haley declined to side with either party in the case.
“I have always said that anyone that feels like they have been sexually assaulted in any way should come forward and have their voice heard,” Haley told CBS’s Face The Nation. “I also think that anyone that’s been accused should be able to defend themselves. I was not on the jury; I am not the judge. I think that both of them had their voices heard.”
https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1657763932373745667?s=20
Trump has vehemently denied wrongdoing calling Carroll’s accusations “fake” and a “made-up story” during a CNN town hall last week. Carroll accused him of raping her back in the 1990s.
Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as Trump’s United Nations ambassador from 2017 to 2018, stressed that she was not challenging the jury’s decision. She also noted that Trump is appealing it.
“There’s a verdict, and I think there’s been an appeal,” Haley added. “I think it stands where it stands, and I think the American people need to make a decision based on that.”
The former president declined not to testify in the case, but did sit for a deposition.
Trump remains the front-runner in the 2024 GOP primary, seemingly buoyed by his recent legal setbacks, including the indictment in Manhattan over alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
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Haley previously sought to avoid commenting on the defamation case.
“I’m not gonna get into that,” she told conservative host Hugh Hewitt. “It’s not my case; it’s his case.”