A jury in New York ruled on Tuesday that former President Trump was liable for sexual abuse and battery of writer E. Jean Carroll more than three decades ago, but not rape. In a trial presided over by U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, the jury awarded $5 million in civil damages to Ms. Carroll and found Trump guilty of defamation against her in his responses to her lawsuit.

The anti-Trump lawyer George Conway and Democrat mega-donor Reid Hoffman, an associate of the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, had supported Carroll’s case against the former president. Trump declined to testify on his own behalf during the trial, though video recordings of his deposition were used as evidence where he stated he did not recall meeting Ms. Carroll nor being attracted to her or her lawyer. Despite difficulties with recalling exact dates concerning the allegations, Judge Kaplan controversially allowed other women to offer testimony about having similar experiences with Trump. This type of character evidence is usually considered inadmissible except for certain conditions; however, because this was not a criminal case, it was deemed permissible by Kaplan.

In response to the verdict from the jury, President Trump took to Truth Social—his social media platform—to express his disbelief: “I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” The case follows that of Tara Reade—a former Capitol Hill staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault during his Senate days in the early 1990s—who was invited to testify before Congress regarding her claims just recently. The former president has declared his intention to appeal the court’s decision on this matter.

The Trump campaign for president issued the following statement Tuesday:

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. We have allowed false and totally made-up claims from troubled individuals to interfere with our elections, doing great damage.

Make no mistake, this entire bogus case is a political endeavor targeting President Trump because he is now an overwhelming front-runner to be once again elected President of the United States.

The continued abuse of our great Constitution for political ends is disgusting and cannot be tolerated. Our nation is in serious trouble when claims lacking any evidence or proof or eyewitnesses can invade our courts to score political points.

Sadly, for the enemies of American freedom and democracy, President Trump will never stop fighting for the American people, no matter what the radical Democrats dream up next. This case will be appealed, and we will ultimately win.