Up First from NPR - Trump's Defamation Penalty, Biden to S.C., Court Decision on Israel.

Episode Date: January 27, 2024

A jury ordered former president Donald Trump to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her. President Biden is heading to South Carolina to shore up support from Black voters. What the international court decision on the Gaza conflict means.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A jury orders Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. The former president repeatedly called Carroll a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. It's an extraordinary award, right as Donald Trump is securing the Republican nomination for president More on that coming up, plus President Biden heads to South Carolina A state that was crucial to his campaign four years ago We know that to be the Democratic nominee and to win the general, you need to be getting a lot of support from voters of color and our base

And that's what South Carolina is all about general, you need to be getting a lot of support from voters of color and, you know, our base. And that's what South Carolina is all about. And Israel remains defiant in the face of an international court ruling. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend. Now, our change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to Our Change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. The defamation case against Donald Trump stems from an encounter in 1996. Five years ago, writer E. Jean Carroll said he sexually assaulted her back then. A jury found in her favor last year. NPR's Ximena Bustillo has been following this trial and joins us now. Ximena, thanks for being

with us. Yeah, thanks for having me. Help us understand what factors the jury had to consider. The judge instructed the jury to remember that it did establish last May that Trump sexually assaulted Carol and that he knew his statements calling her a liar when she went public were defamatory. And so they had three questions to kind of consider. One, did Carol suffer, quote, more than normal damages as a result of statements Trump made in 2019? And if so, how much should she receive in compensatory damages? The answer from the jury was yes, and they awarded her $18.3 million. Questions two and three to the jury were whether Trump acted, quote, maliciously out of hatred, ill will or spite or what they said in willful disregard of Ms. Carroll's rights when he made those statements in June 21st and 22nd, specifically of 2019, while he was at the White House.

And if so, how much should she be paid in punitive damages? The jury once again said yes, an answer to all the above. And the answer on the money was $65 million. They only really deliberated for a few hours. Mena, you were in the courthouse for part of the trial. What was that like? Well, we heard from a lot of witnesses, including both Carol and Trump themselves. Trump, who spoke very briefly. Carol's testimony detailed in large part the immediate aftermath of Trump's comments from the White House. This is when Trump called Carol's accusations lies in large part the immediate aftermath of Trump's comments from the White House.

This is when Trump called Carol's accusations lies and when she said that she is, quote, not his type. Now, Carol testified that after those comments were made, her reputation as a trusted advice columnist and face in the media was affected. She received threats and harassing messages using similar language that she's a liar out to get Trump and unattractive. Trump's lawyers, on the other hand, argued that Trump was not the cause of the hatred and blowback. And instead, Carroll also received a lot of support and fame because of his comments and because of what she came out with. Trump, in his own testimony, was brief and insisted that his previous recorded statement about the allegations were true and that he did not intend to harm her. When asked by Alina Haba, who's his lawyer, if he ever instructed anyone to hurt Carol, Trump said, quote, I just wanted to defend myself, my family and, frankly, the presidency.

Donald Trump is facing a lot of legal challenges. What could come next in this case and the parcel of others he has? Trump's lawyer, Habba, said that they would appeal the verdict, which was expected. Following the decision, the Trump 2024 campaign also issued a statement arguing without evidence that the trial is a political weapon against him and he disagrees with the verdict. The case is one of several involving Trump, who is also awaiting a verdict in a civil trial that could result in him paying at least $250 million to New York State for business practices which have been deemed by a judge to be fraudulent.

He could also be prohibited from doing business in the state where he built his business empire and brand, and that verdict could also come before the month's end. In all, Trump faces 91 charges in federal and state courts, ranging from ones in New York that we have just discussed to those at the federal level related to the January 6th Capitol riot. All this, he's still running for president and is the leading Republican in the field. So interesting few months ahead for us. And Piers and Minna Bustillo, thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you. The first official Democratic primary is a week from today, February 3rd. And even though President Biden doesn't face any major competition, he still needs to turn out the vote. So Biden is headed to South Carolina today where that primary will be held. And Bear White House correspondent Asma Khalid is traveling with the president and joins us now. Asma, thanks for being with us. Happy to be here.

So the Democratic Party changed its primary calendar this year to make South Carolina the first instead of New Hampshire. What's the president going to do make South Carolina the first instead of New Hampshire. What's the president going to do in South Carolina today? Well, he'll be speaking at this South Carolina Democratic Party dinner tonight. He'll also be doing some other local stops. But he's not the only one. The first lady was in the state yesterday. She attended a gala for Alpha Kappa Alpha. That's a historically black sorority. The vice president was here on Martin Luther King Day. So really, what you've seen is a lot of investment, I would say, from the Biden team, a lot of time and resources being spent here. You've also seen the South Carolina Democratic Party launch this statewide tour.

And the Biden campaign says this is all about energizing their base. Josh Marcus Blank is the campaign's communications director for state operations. We know that to be the Democratic nominee and to win the general, you need to be getting a lot of support from voters of color and, you know, our base. And that's what South Carolina is all about. And Scott, you know, Black voters are indeed a crucial part of the Democratic Party in a general election. And in 2020, Black voters made up roughly 60 percent of the South Carolina Democratic electorate. And that is the major reason Biden wanted this state to go first in the primary process, was so that black voters could

have a larger say. All of that being understood and noted, the president doesn't have any major challengers for the nomination. And in the general election in November, South Carolina is not generally figured as a state that the Democrats are going to carry. So why all the effort now? You know, I think part of this is about trying to show that the president indeed values black voices. But I think part of this is also about trying to quiet some of the naysayers. There's been a lot of hand-wringing in the Democratic Party about whether black voters are enthusiastic about Biden's reelection bid. Adrienne Schrobschreier runs BlackPak. It's a super PAC focused on Black voters.

And she told me, you know, sure, you can learn some lessons from South Carolina, like whether the tactics that were used to engage Black voters did indeed work. But she also worries about folks trying to overanalyze or draw the wrong conclusion from South Carolina's results. My worry is that people will glean the wrong things because there's this outsized expectation. I do think that it's important that we understand that the electorate

in a primary is different than the electorate in a general. And so what I would hate for people to take away is like, oh, young Black voters didn't come out, when in fact, they're not likely to come out in a primary anywhere. So if that's true, too, and all the spin is done, what conclusions might people draw from whatever happens in South Carolina? I asked Tiffany James about this. She's a consultant in Columbia, South Carolina, and she says a lot of the voters that are going to participate in the primary are so-called traditional establishment voters. But Biden also needs to show he can bring in some of the outsiders. We know Biden's going to win the Democratic nomination. We know that. But just because that's known, that doesn't mean that we should,

I guess, be lackadaisical on engagement. You know, Tiffany is a millennial. She's really worried about young voters who might not always show up in Democratic elections. And she says one of the big things Democrats need to do in South Carolina is show that they are willing to engage with those kinds of young voters. Because even if it doesn't matter next Saturday in South Carolina, it will matter in places like Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin this coming November during the general election. And Pierre-Saz Michalad, thanks very much. Have a great trip. Thank you. Take care. The International Court of Justice says it's plausible that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. But it stops short of ordering a ceasefire in the conflict. NPR's Ada Peralta is on the line from Tel Aviv and joins us now. Ada, thank you for being with us.

Hey, Aisha. Ada, why did the court not order a ceasefire? You know, the court didn't address that directly in its opinion, but some legal analysts doubt that the court even had the jurisdiction to order a ceasefire. What the court did say is that the allegations that South Africa is making against Israel, mainly that Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza, were in the least plausible. And because of that, the court said that it needed to act even before it considers the merits of the case. So it issued what it calls a provisional order telling Israel to do everything it can

to stop the death of more civilians in Gaza. And it ordered Israel to do everything it can to avoid committing genocide. Very shortly after the decision came down, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a defiant statement saying that any charges of genocide against Israel were, quote, false and outrageous. Let's listen. Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself. The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state. How have Palestinians and other Israelis been reacting to this decision?

The Palestinian Authority said the court's orders were the beginning of, quote, holding Israel accountable. And I also spoke to Noura Erakat, a Palestinian American human rights lawyer who teaches at Rutgers. And she said that even without calling for a ceasefire, this was a significant move. Let's listen. The decision that they provided still provides the means for an international community to continue to agitate for that ceasefire, for weapons sanctions on Israel, for accountability. And what she's saying is that what is important is that the decision highlighted the inflammatory language being used by some Israeli officials and that by a wide margin, it also called for restraint. Here on the streets of Tel Aviv, the reaction was muted. Most people were disappointed, saying that the court said little about the attack by Hamas

and that it skirted the issue that they care about the most, which is the release of the 132 hostages that Israel believes are still in Gaza. To be fair, the court did call for the hostages to be released. And I also found a solitary voice in Rani Amir, who was 25. Let's listen. I think they took like the easy way. They don't care about people's lives, not in Gaza and not in Israel. And Rani Amir was protesting against the war in the middle of Tel Aviv. And she wasn't very popular. Lots of Israelis who were just walking by her shouted insults her way. Does this decision have any practical effect? You know, this is a case that can take years to work its way through this court.

There's actually a similar case against Myanmar that was filed in 2019, and that is still waiting for a resolution. But more immediately, the court expressed a lot of concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. More than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. Almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip have been displaced and they're going hungry. And the court ordered Israel to allow humanitarian aid to flow more freely into Gaza. And this adds to calls we've already heard from the U.S., the U.N. and others. So we'll see if this decision makes a difference on that front.

That's NPR's Eder Peralta reporting from Tel Aviv. Eder, thank you so much. Thank you, Aisha. And that's up first for Saturday, January 27th, 2024. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon. Fernando Narro and Martin Patience produce today's podcast. Our editors include Krishna Dev Kalimur, Roberta Rampton, Jerry Holmes, and Matthew Sherman.

Our director is Andrew Craig. Our technical director is Hannah Glovna. And we've also had engineering support from Carly Strange, Zach Coleman, and Phil Edfors. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on Up First, NPR's politics team discusses who might be on Donald Trump's shortlist as his vice presidential candidate. And of course, for more news, interviews,

books, entertainment, music, pure entertainment, you can tune into Weekend Edition this weekend, hence the name. Find your NPR station at stations.npr.org. Aha. I'm going to guess maybe you already know where it is. Yeah. Go listen. Don't delay.