E Jean Carroll praises Trump sexual abuse verdict as CNN town hall under fire – live

Donald Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina clashed with a journalist after his client was found liable for sexual abuse.

Footage showed Mr Tacopina confronting a reporter outside court on Tuesday as he faced questions about the verdict.

“Get that camera out of my f***ing face,” he said.

“Don’t put that microphone on my shoulder.”

As the journalist continued asking him if he was concerned about Donald Trump’s social media posts, Mr Tacopina fired back: “I already said no, do you speak English or not?”

The twice-impeached former president, who is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, is set to participate in a town hall on Wednesday. The event will be moderated by Kaitlan Collins.

Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.

Kevin McCarthy has managed to dodge questions about disgraced Republicans George Santos and Donald Trump – all the while claiming he would not “avoid” the question.

On Tuesday, the House Majority Leader was asked by a reporter to comment on the two prominent GOP figures, after Mr Trump was found liable of sexual abuse and Mr Santos was indicted on federal charges.

“Are you going to continue to stand by George Santos now that he’s been indicted on federal charges? And do you stand by President Trump after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse?” the reporter asked.

Mr McCarthy responded by saying: “I’m not going to avoid your question.”

He then proceeded to do just that as he skirted around the subjects without giving a definitive answer.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Donald Trump repeated his false claim that he’s never met E Jean Carroll after the jury in the civil trial found he sexually abused the writer.

“I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.

A photo of Mr Trump meeting Ms Carroll was shown during the trial.

Ms Carroll, 79, sued the former president for allegedly raping her in a dressing room at the Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in 1996, and then “destroying” her reputation when he claimed she was lying.

Here are six memorable moments from Ms Carroll’s testimony.

A jury in New York has found former president Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing Elle magazine columnist E Jean Carroll and for then defaming her when he denied the allegations against him.

Ms Carroll, 79, sued Mr Trump, 76, for attacking her in a dressing room of the luxury Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the spring of 1996 and then “destroying” her reputation when he claimed she was lying.

On Tuesday, the nine-person panel took just three hours of deliberations before returning their verdict, finding that Mr Trump did sexually abuse Ms Carroll. The jury awarded the writer a total of $5m in damages.

The outcome raises the question.

Will Mr Trump have to register as a sex offender?

Kevin McCarthy dodged questions about George Santos and Donald Trump – while claiming he would not “avoid” the question.

On Tuesday, the House Majority Leader was asked by a reporter to comment on the two prominent Republicans, after Mr Trump was found liable of sexual abuse and Mr Santos was indicted on federal charges.

“Are you going to continue to stand by George Santos now that he’s been indicted on federal charges? And do you stand by Trump after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse?” the reporter asked.

Mr McCarthy responded by saying: “I’m not going to avoid your question.”

He then skirted around the topic without giving a definitive answer.

“But as you know, I’ve been at the White House. I haven’t seen the indictment,” he said.

“But as you know, with George Santos, I did not put him on any committees.

“In America, we’ll just follow the same pattern we always have, right? If a person is indicted, they’re not on committees, they have the right to vote. But they have to go to trial.”

If Mr Santos is found guilty, however, he might have to resign, he said.

When pressed about Mr Trump, Mr McCarthy then claimed he had been in “meetings” so was unaware of what was going on.

“I — I don’t know. I’ve been in meetings,” he said.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley profiles the woman whose life was upended when she accused the world’s most powerful man of rape.

CNN is facing growing pressure to cancel its town hall with Donald Trump in light of the former president being found liable for sexual abuse.

On Wednesday night, Kaitlan Collins is scheduled to moderate a town hall at New Hampshire’s St Anselm College with Mr Trump.

The event was already controversial with Democrats questioning whether the former president should be given the airtime.

Following the jury’s verdict in the E Jean Carroll case on Tuesday, calls are mounting on social media for the network to ax the event.