Professor testifies repair to E. Jean Carroll's reputation would cost up to $12 million 

E. Jean Carroll would need to spend $12 million to repair the damage done to her reputation from Donald Trump’s continued denial that he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in 1996, an expert witness testified in Manhattan federal court.

The ongoing defamation case brought against the former president by the writer is the second civil case brought by Carroll against Trump stemming from her assertion that he attacked her in the lingerie changing room of Bergdorf Goodman after a chance encounter.

The jury in the first case not only found the former president liable for the sexual assault, the panel also agreed that Trump had defamed Carroll when he denied the violent encounter took place.

The current trial will determine how much money, if any, the GOP presidential front-runner will have to pay for damages done to Carroll’s reputation after two public denials by Trump in 2019 following her first reporting the attack in a book excerpt published in New York Magazine.

“Before she was known as a woman’s advice columnist, after the statements, her associations were mostly with her being a liar working with the Democratic Party,” according to expert witness Ashlee Humphreys, a professor of Integrated Marketing at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, testifying for Carroll. “I determined that [the statements made by the president] did affect her reputation, especially as a journalist.”

Humphreys, who has previously testified in half a dozen civil cases, studied data from various social media platforms, TV viewership information and print circulation numbers to determine 104 million people saw the then-president's public denials and his claim she lied to promote her book and undermine his reelection effort.

The professor testified that 75% of those who reacted to Carroll’s revelation that she was attacked by Trump were positive toward her. However, Humphreys said that reputational damage can be widespread and lasting if only 25% believe the negative information.

Throughout the testimony on Wednesday, attorneys on both sides read threatening and profanity-laced emails and social media posts echoing the former president’s statements to show the backlash from Trump's comments. Trump's lawyers tried to show the supporters made their statements independent of him. 

“I do believe that some of the language in these tweets wouldn’t be there had he not said what he said,” the professor said, referring to Trump’s comments.

Humphreys told that jury that reputational repair campaigns can run as high as $50 million and listed Martha Stewart, Hugh Grant and Justin Bieber as having successfully turned public sentiment back their way.

These efforts involve television, print and social media campaigns that repeatedly broadcast positive messages about the damaged part, she said.

In Carroll’s case, a reputation repair campaign would run between $7.2 and $12 million.

Trump’s lawyers Alina Habba and Michael Madaio sought to undermine the president’s role in Carroll’s loss of status, saying she’s been feted by stars like Bette Midler, John Cusack and Mira Sorvino after she won the first case.

Despite the fact that the previous jury found he defamed her by his denial, he continues to deny the attack, even holding a news conference Wednesday to repeat his claim, according to a video clip played in court by Carroll's legal team.

In part, Carroll’s team also must convince the jury that a monetary award will persuade the former president to stop repeating the assertion that she lied about the attack.

Trump was not in court Thursday for the first time since the trial began. He was in Florida attending funeral services for his mother-in-law.

Testimony will continue on Monday.