Yearly Archives: 2024

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz should apologize to Dan Kelly after it was revealed that her campaign viciously mocked her opponent with horses...

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” The vision comes to mind of a kid standing on a city street corner trying to hawk the...

(The Center Square) – Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says Democrats in the state continue to hate him for what he did more than a decade after he took office. But he said the current redistricting effort, and the political change that could follow, are more a reflection of the feft’s hate for former President Trump.

Walker told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber the effort to flip Wisconsin toward Democrats is a direct result of last spring’s election that flipped the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

And that election, Walker said, is a direct result of the Democrat’s fundraising and campaigning in the state.

“It is a reflection of what happens when the feft is driven largely by their hate and disdain nationally for President Trump. They see Wisconsin is a key state, which it is. And they've just been better at Republicans and conservatives at pouring money into things like the supreme court race,” Walker said. “It's hard to deny the enormous advantage that was held by the liberal candidate in that race and then they were really good at targeting. You know they put a million and a half just into the University of Wisconsin campus at Madison.”

Walker added that the new liberal-majority Supreme Court now needs to decide what it will do with its majority.

“We have to wake up to the reality that with this new liberal majority, they're kind of setting aside judicial restraint and basically doing what [Justice Janet Protasiewicz] said during the campaign, which was she's going to throw the maps out, that she's going to throw Act 10 out, and she's going to do the other things,” Walker explained. “The rest of the justices have to decide whether they want to be justices or they're just going to be political hacks.”

Walker said Act 10, which radically transformed how teachers unions could negotiate with their local schools, remains popular with both taxpayers and local school leaders. He said Act 10 has saved the people of Wisconsin nearly $20 billion since it became law in 2011, and he said many local superintendents and school board members would be sad to see it overturned.

“People need to realize this, if [Act 10] gets reversed, it doesn't go back to the way it was years and years ago. It means all this money that right now is actually going into the classroom, that's able to reward exceptional teachers, that’s able to put curriculum and things for kids in the classroom could potentially now be sucked up by the union bosses, and used for all sorts of outrageous things,” the former governor said. “It would take money out of the classroom we we be back at where we were the year before I took office.”

Wisconsin Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher was one of three Republicans who joined with Democrats on Tuesday to sink the impeachment of U.S. Department of...

One of the criminals freed by Gov. Tony Evers' then-appointee on the state Parole Commission has been charged in the double homicide of Gina...

“The City of Green Bay would be doing themselves a favor if she were removed from their employment.” —Ron Heuer, president of the Wisconsin...

The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court placed Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips on the Democratic presidential primary ballot on Friday, overruling attempts by the state Democratic...

The two hired gun consultants handpicked by the liberal justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court have agreed to keep "communications with members of the...

The two consultants hired by the liberal justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are ruling out both conservative-drawn maps because the liberal-drawn maps they...

Wow. I was amazed reading about District Attorney Eric Toney’s story about his heart challenges and that he went public with that. That was...

Former state Rep. Don Pridemore, who retired from the legislature in 2014, once urged abused women to stay with abusive spouses. The controversy sparked headlines...

(The Center Square) – Some Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol want the state to help save local newsrooms.

Two Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg, and Sen Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloint, introduced three pieces of legislation they hope will save local journalism.

The first would be a local journalism fellowship that would pay a handful of young reporters $40,000 to start their career in a local newsroom. The lawmakers are also pitching a 50% tax credit for newspaper subscriptions and a Wisconsin Civic Information Consortium.

“The Civic Information Consortium will boost local news coverage and civic engagement across the state, with a focus on addressing information gaps in communities long underserved by the commercial news market,” Spreitzer said. “A similar model in New Jersey has already allocated more than $6 million over just the past few years, uplifting Innovative new approaches to civic media and supporting news coverage in pockets of the state that have long been ignored by mainstream news beats.”

Anderson said there is a need for someone to do something to bolster local news in Wisconsin and across the country.

“Local news is dying. Over the past 20 years, a quarter of American newspapers have shuddered, and an average of two papers close down almost every week. Surviving newsrooms have been bought by venture capital firms and consolidated, often leading to massive layoffs. I think we saw just the past couple weeks there's a report of even more layoffs at the LA Times for instance,” Anderson added. “As our news diets are becoming increasingly nationalized, televised and sensationalized, the way we engage with our politics has changed for the worse. The news we consume today leaves us feeling disaffected, powerless, angry, and often serves to enforce tribal loyalties. In fact, decreased access to local journalism has been associated with higher levels of partisanship polarization and other negative affects voter turnout.”

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association supports the plan because it would mainly benefit the state’s newspaper industry. Advocates with Free Press Action also support the proposal. Free Press Action has a history of pushing for more government involvement in the news industry and a history of opposing media companies and the free market approach to new journalism.

The plan in Wisconsin comes after Democrats in Illinois pitched a similar proposal in their state earlier this month.

DEI training given to employees by UW Health instructs white employees that they will show "growth" on their "continued journey towards antiracism" if they...

Former President Donald Trump will remain on the Illinois ballot after the State Board of Elections dismissed a challenge alleging he was ineligible because of his challenging the results of 2020 election.

The elections board, in a bipartisan 7-1 vote, said it did not have the jurisdiction to remove Trump from the ballot.

A hearing officer had earlier recommended Trump’s name be removed.

The primary in Illinois is March 19. The General Election is Nov. 5.

This story is developing and will be updated.

(The Center Square) – As expected, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the political maps that he mostly drew.

Evers on Tuesday said he scuttled the so-called 99% maps because they were too favorable to Republicans.

“These maps are more the same. Republicans passed maps to help make sure Republican-gerrymandered incumbents get to keep their seats. Folks, that's just more gerrymandering,” Evers said. “Allowing politicians to move district lines so that their party can retain political power doesn't help root out gerrymandering from our democracy, it further entrenches it. And that's wrong.”

The maps the governor drew moved dozens of incumbent Republicans into new districts. Republicans moved some of those lawmakers back but largely left the governor’s maps unchanged.

Evers has denied he gerrymandered Wisconsin with his maps that would give Democrats control over the state legislature. Instead, he calls them fair maps.

“I have never been more hopeful that when Wisconsinites head to the ballot box later this year, they'll be voting under legislative maps that finally reflect the people of the state,” Evers explained. “Wisconsin voters don't want Republican or Democrat maps because Wisconsin isn't a red state, or blue state, or purple state. And our map should reflect that basic fact.”

Republicans weren’t surprised by Evers’ veto.

“This just proves that the governor is counting on the $10 million purchase of our Wisconsin State Supreme Court to unconstitutionally draw completely slanted maps to give a desired outcome,” Rep Barb Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, said on social media Tuesday.

“Gov. Evers just vetoed a ‘Fair Map’ he claimed he wanted,” Wisconsin Republican Party boss Brian Schimming said in a statement. “What he really wants is obvious: to have the legislative map decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that his party just bought and paid for. It’s as simple as that.”

The Center Square) – Act 10, the law that fundamentally weakened Wisconsin’s public school teachers’ unions, is headed back to court. And again there is an effort to save it.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Monday filed a motion to join the new case that seeks to end Act 10. That case claims there was “no conceivable rational basis” for Act 10 to begin with.

“There is no question that 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 significantly changed labor relations in Wisconsin. But since Act 10’s enactment over a decade ago, state and federal courts have repeatedly rebuffed constitutional challenges to the law by those who oppose it,” WILL wrote in its memo to the court. “Both the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin and Seventh Circuit in [the Walker case] had little trouble concluding that Wisconsin was free to distinguish between public safety and general employees, with the latter labeling this conclusion as ‘uncontroversial.’”

The latest challenge to Act 10 comes is a claim the law violates equal protection requirements by treating public safety employees like police officers differently than public school teachers.

“Not only has Act 10 survived more than a decade of state and federal court challenges, but it set a national precedent for protecting the freedom of taxpayers and state employees everywhere. WILL is proud to once again be on the side of Act 10. Wisconsin cannot afford to go backwards on this important issue,” WILL’s Lucas Vebber said in a statement.

WILL is asking to join the case on behalf of Kristi Koschkee, who it describes as an employee at a public school district.

“She does not want her local union interfering with her relationship with her employer by bargaining on subjects beyond those permitted by Act 10 or entering agreements that last longer than a year; she supports requiring unions to recertify annually, does not want to have her decision to abstain from a union certification vote work in the union’s favor, and does not want to be pressured into participating in recertification elections; and she opposes allowing unions to access employee wages directly through payroll deductions,” WILL’s court memo stated.

Former Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 10 in 2011. It limited teachers unions in Wisconsin to negotiating only salaries, and stopped unions from including other benefits in their regularly scheduled contract negotiations.

Conservatives estimate that Act 10 has saved taxpayers in Wisconsin over $17 billion in the decade-plus that it’s been a law.

State Senator Duey Stroebel joined me on The Meg Ellefson Show last week to discuss the Democrats’ absurd hyper-partisan scheme to gerrymander Wisconsin’s legislative...

A coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas backing Texas in its border battle with the Biden administration.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defied the Biden administration last week, making clear he would continue to put up concertina wire fencing at the southern border to help stop the flow of illegal immigration, which has soared since Biden took office.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue last week, saying federal agents could continue to remove the concertina wire, but the ruling did not prohibit Texas from installing the border defenses. Abbott said after the ruling that the federal government had broken its pact with the states for not stopping what more than 50 Texas counties have declared an “invasion.”

That court case is the latest touchpoint for the ongoing immigration crisis and frustration of many border states and Republicans who argue Biden is willfully aiding millions of illegal immigrants get into the U.S.

“Since the Biden Administration has failed to do its job and secure the border, states like Texas have stepped up to protect their citizens,” the letter said. “A federal district court found that Texas’s border defense wires reduced illegal border crossings by more than two-thirds. Those barriers protect not just Texans from millions of illegal border crossings, but the rest of the nation.”

More than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. since Biden took office, more than the population of about 40 U.S. states.

An impeachment effort is underway in the House for Mayorkas, the recipient of this letter, over similar concerns about the lack of border enforcement and Mayorkas policies.

The Biden administration has blamed Republicans, saying they have not passed the needed funding to secure the border. Republicans have pushed back, saying Biden’s changes to things like asylum policies have turned border agents into a processing and entry program instead of deterrence.

The Monday letter sided with Texas and said states “have an independent duty to defend against invasion.”

The letter was signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The leadership of the Arizona state legislature signed as well.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes co-led the effort.

“The invasion on our southern border has made every state a border state,” Bird said in a statement. “While the Biden Administration has opened the door wide for drug cartels, traffickers, and potential terrorists to cross our border, States have been left to fend for themselves. If the Biden Administration won’t do its job to secure our border and keep Americans safe, it should step aside to let the States do the job for them. Iowa proudly stands with Texas in this fight.”

Notably, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, introduced the “State Border Security Act” last week, which would block federal agents from “dismantling, removing, destroying” border barriers installed by states.

Milwaukee Police are investigating a double fatal shooting that occurred on Monday, January 29, 2024, at approximately 2:26 p.m., on the 4900 block of N. Hopkins Street. Preliminary information suggests that two individuals fired shots at each other subsequently striking each other. A 16-year-old sustained fatal injuries and died on scene. The second individual, a 21-year-old, was transported to a local hospital for treatment and later died at the hospital. The investigation is currently ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips. The City of Milwaukee is subject to Wisconsin Statutes related to public records. Unless otherwise exempted from the public records law, senders and receivers of City of Milwaukee e-mail should presume that e-mail is subject to release upon request, and is subject to state records retention requirements. See City of Milwaukee full e-mail disclaimer at www.milwaukee.gov/email_disclaimer

A former IRS contractor who leaked former President Donald Trump's tax returns along with tax information for some of the nation's wealthiest people was sentenced Monday to five years in prison.

Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty in October to disclosing tax return information without authorization.

Littlejohn, while working at the IRS as a contractor, stole tax return information associated with Trump and others. Littlejohn accessed tax returns associated with Trump on an IRS database "after using broad search parameters designed to conceal the true purpose of his queries," according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He then evaded IRS protocols to detect and prevent large downloads or uploads from its systems.

Prosecutors said Littlejohn then saved the tax returns to multiple personal storage devices, including an iPod, before contacting a news outlet. Between around August 2019 and October 2019, Littlejohn provided the news outlet with the tax return information associated with Trump. Littlejohn then stole additional tax return information related to Trump and provided it to the same news organization, which is not named in the indictment.

In September 2020, The New York Times published a series of articles about Trump's returns.

The Times has previously said Littlejohn was a whistleblower.

A spokesperson for The New York Times said: "We remain concerned when whistleblowers who provide information in the public interest are prosecuted."

"The Times's reporting on this topic played an important role in helping the public understand the financial ties and tax strategies of a sitting president – information that has long been seen as central to the knowledge that voters should have about the leader of our government and the candidates for that high office."

In July and August 2020, prosecutors said Littlejohn separately stole tax return information for thousands of the nation's wealthiest people, again evading IRS detection. In November 2020, Littlejohn disclosed this tax return information to another unnamed news organization, which published more than 50 articles using the stolen data. Littlejohn then obstructed the forthcoming investigation into his conduct by deleting and destroying evidence of his disclosures, according to prosecutors.

ProPublica published a series of articles on wealthy taxpayers during the same time frame.

"By using his role as a government contractor to gain access to private tax information, steal that information, and disclose it publicly, Charles Littlejohn broke federal law and betrayed the public's trust," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement last October.

The world is awaiting President Joe Biden’s response to a drone attack in Jordan over the weekend that left three U.S. servicemembers dead and more than 30 injured.

In his statement Sunday, Biden said “we know [the attack] was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” and pledged to respond to the “despicable and wholly unjust attack.”

That statement raised questions about what the response could look like and if it would be severe enough to escalate to a broader war in the region.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said at the White House briefing Monday that the administration “does not want a war” and “does not want to escalate.”

“But we will absolutely do what is required to protect ourselves and to continue that mission and to respond appropriately to these attacks,” Kirby said.

Kirby went on to say he would not get ahead of the president’s decision-making or give much information about what a response could look like. He said Biden is “weighing the options before him” and reiterated that the groups responsible for the attack are “backed by Tehran,” the capital of Iran.

The weekend drone strike is the latest in a string of attempted attacks by various terror and militia groups in the region. Those attacks have amplified since the Iranian-backed Hamas fighters carried out their deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Some experts and U.S. lawmakers called for a retaliatory strike against Iran, which has nuclear capabilities, but that strike could quickly grow into a wider regional war involving Israel and other Middle East nations.

Iran has publicly pushed back against the claim it is tied to the deaths of the U.S. servicemembers.

So far, the U.S. has not responded with a strike in the region, which is already on edge.

Biden’s response could be crucial for the Israeli-Hamas war and for determining whether the ongoing Middle East issues escalate into a larger conflict.

Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired on ships in the Red Sea attempting to pass through the Suez canal, forcing billions of dollars in shipping to begin going south around the tip of Africa instead.

Biden responded by sending a U.S. mobile Naval base to the region, where U.S. forces are shooting down Houthi missiles and drones. Houthis have targeted the U.S. forces as well.

The Department of Defense released the names of the servicemembers, “Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga.”

In his statement Sunday, Biden honored the fallen troops.

“These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty,” he said. “Unbending in their commitment to our country – risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism. It is a fight we will not cease.”

President Joe Biden’s support in America’s most Hispanic state has declined dramatically, according to a new poll.

Biden trails former president Donald Trump 57-41 in New Mexico, representing a sharp reversal from his 54-44 victory in 2020, according to the poll, conducted by Public Option Strategies in conjunction with Power the Future, an energy worker advocacy group.

The reversal of fortunes for Biden in New Mexico seems to be driven by dissatisfaction among Hispanic voters. Only 36% of Hispanic poll respondents approve of Biden, compared to 53% in July 2022. Conversely, 63% of Hispanic voters disapprove of Biden, compared to 43% in July 2022, according to the poll. Biden easily beat Trump among New Mexico's Hispanic voters 61% to 38% in the 2020 election.

Biden’s struggles in New Mexico might be reflective of a broader backlash against his performance overall, as evidenced by national polling. Nationally, 58% of voters disapprove of Biden's performance, in contrast to 39% who approve it, according to the poll. National polling data aggregated by FiveThirtyEight affirms these findings, with roughly 39% of Americans approving of Biden's performance.

The Center Square Voters Voice poll of more than 2,500 likely voters conducted in January found similar overall dissatisfaction: 59% of likely voters disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president, while 39% say they approve of the job he is doing.

Seventy-three percent of New Mexico voters rated the state’s economy as “only fair” or “poor.” Twenty-seven percent of respondents agreed that the economy is “good.” Hispanic voters were even more pessimistic, with 80% saying that the economy is “poor” 19% rating the economy as “good.” Only 26% of respondents agree that their personal economic situation has “gotten better.”

Fifty-four percent of New Mexico voters say that the oil and gas industry is “most important” to the well-being of the state’s economy, an industry that the Biden administration has been adversarial towards. And 66% of the state’s voters are opposed to government-backed efforts to move away from oil and gas as an energy source. On Friday, the president, supported by environmental activists, paused the approval of new liquified natural gas exports.

“This poll proves what many outside of Washington, D.C. already know: the constant attack on America’s energy sources leads to higher costs and families know more green mandates aren’t the answer,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of Power The Future, said in a statement. “The people of New Mexico know their state receives billions from the oil and natural gas industry, and Joe Biden is doing all he can to stop it. Support for Joe Biden in this deep blue state has evaporated, and that should send shockwaves through the White House.”

New Mexico voters are also wary of the growing push toward electric vehicles, according to the poll. Sixty percent of respondents say they do not want to purchase an electric vehicle and 67% think it will “cost them more in the long run.” The Biden administration has touted its commitment to growing the electric vehicle industry, increasing taxpayer funding to help expand electric vehicle charging stations and announcing a $3.9 billion initiative to improve the country’s electric grid.

Moreover, the poll reveals New Mexico voters rank the economy, crime, illegal immigration, and inflation as their most urgent concerns, issues that national voters rate Biden poorly on.

If the liberal justices are serious about "fair maps," they will pick WILL's, data analysis shows. Forget Gov. Tony Evers' maps. Forget the Republican Legislature's....

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There were 371,036 foreign nationals reported to have illegally entered the U.S. nationwide in December, the largest number for the month in U.S. history.

There were 302,034 foreign nationals who illegally entered the southwest land border, with the majority, 249,785, being apprehended between ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. By comparison, 73,414 illegal border crossers were apprehended at the southwest border in December 2021.

There were 15,349 foreign nationals apprehended illegally entering at the northern land border last month, the highest for the month in U.S. history, according to the data. By comparison, there were 2,205 apprehensions at the northern border in December 2021.

The data excludes gotaways, those who illegally enter and intentionally evade capture by law enforcement, which CBP doesn’t publicly report. When included, the totals are much higher. From Jan. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2023, there were an estimated 1.7 million gotaways to have illegally entered the U.S., The Center Square exclusively reported. Ultimately, law enforcement officials say they have no idea how many gotaways there are in the U.S., or who or where they are.

The overwhelming majority of illegal border crossers, including gotaways, are single adults, with the majority of them being single military age men, The Center Square has previously reported.

Retired FBI counter intelligence leaders recently sounded the alarm, warning that these unvetted men pose a terrorist threat. They also said President Joe Biden’s border policies have facilitated a “soft invasion” into the U.S. of military-age men coming from terror-linked regions, including China and Russia. “In its modern history the U.S. has never suffered an invasion of the homeland, and, yet, one is unfolding now,” they said.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to soon impeach him for failing to uphold his oath of office, as the House Committee on Homeland Security Committee Chairman has repeatedly argued, Mayorkas is “derelict in his duty” to protect the homeland.

When was the last time the government did less of something? We’re used to nothing but more—more inflation, more debt, and more spending, particularly under...

The Brown County, Wisconsin, Public Health office has renamed "breast feeding" chest feeding. In the same post, Brown County's Public Health department referred to mothers...

(The Center Square) – Lena Taylor is leaving the Wisconsin Senate to a chorus of kind words.

Gov. Tony Evers on Friday named Taylor as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge.

“Sen. Taylor is a committed public servant who has dedicated her life to pursuing justice for her community and the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said. “I am confident that she will serve the people of Milwaukee County well as a circuit court judge.”

Taylor was first elected to the State Assembly in 2003, and then to the State Senate two years later.

Taylor resigned her Senate seat Friday and will start as a judge Tuesday.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of the 4th Senate and the 18th Assembly Districts, over the course of my 20-year tenure with the Wisconsin State Legislature. It has, also, been a pleasure to work with my colleagues, staff, state employees and the dedicated Capitol employees, that made it possible for me to serve my constituents,” Taylor said in a statement. “As I prepare for the next phase in my journey of public service, I must admit this feels like a full circle moment. I began my career as a public defender and then private practice attorney. Even in running for public office, the goal of justice reform, accountable and responsive systems, has always been my priority.”

Taylor is leaving with high praise, from both her fellow Democrats and Republicans.

“I will miss working with my friend, Sen. Lena Taylor. Although we come from different backgrounds and political philosophies, Lena and I were able to work together more often than not, as we did on improving policing. Never at a loss for (a lot) of words, Lena was a passionate advocate for Milwaukee and her beliefs,” Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said Friday. “Even when we weren’t able to reach an agreement, we were often able to reach an understanding. I look forward to working with her in her new capacity as a member of the judiciary.”

“Sen Taylor is a fierce and effective advocate for the people of Milwaukee and her dedication to her community is unmatched. I am confident that the Senator will diligently fulfill the duties of a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge because of her equitable pursuit of justice and commitment to the truth,” Senate Democratic Leader Diane Hesselbein said in a statement of her own. “It has been an honor to serve with Senator Taylor throughout my time in the State Legislature and I salute this excellent choice by Gov. Evers.”

Taylor’s new job opens a seat in the Wisconsin Senate and opens a spot to run under what will likely be new political maps later this year.

Becoming a judge also means a significant pay raise.

Wisconsin lawmakers make a little more than $57,000 a-year. Taylor will make a little more than $164,000 a-year.

A jury on Friday ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million in damages to a writer who accused him of him of ruining her reputation by denying he raped her in 1995 or 1996.

The jury awarded $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. That's far more than the $10 million writer E. Jean Carroll had sought.

Carroll sued Trump in 2019 after he denied that he had raped her in 1995 or 1996 in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.

Trump had said he never met Carroll. His attorneys argued Carroll had sought fame and attention. Trump said she made up the story to boost sales of her memoir.

Trump said Friday's verdict was a sign the nation's legal system was broken.

"Absolutely ridiculous!," he wrote on Truth Social. "I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!"

In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for $5 million in damages for sexually abusing Carroll and calling her a liar. In that trial, Carroll testified that Trump raped her and then defamed her by calling her a liar in a 2022 post on Truth Social, his social media platform. That jury found Carroll failed to prove that Trump raped her, but proved that Trump sexually assaulted her.

Trump, 77, is leading in the primary race for the GOP nomination to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden.

Carroll's civil case is among the many legal challenges Trump faces as he campaigns. He faces 91 felony charges in four criminal cases.

Trump has said the legal challenges amount to a politically charged witch hunt designed to interfere with his bid to re-take the White House.

The Washington D.C. trial, one of the two federal criminal cases, is set to start March 4. Special Counsel Jack Smith's team of federal prosecutors charged Trump with four federal counts related to contesting the 2020 election and the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. The charges include conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one's vote counted, according to the indictment. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After that is Trump's New York state criminal case, set to start on March 25. In that case, Trump pleaded not guilty in April to 34 felony counts related to charges he paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels through a lawyer before the 2016 presidential election and covered it up as a legal expense before being elected president.

Then comes the scheduled start of the classified documents case in Florida on May 20. In that case, Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 felony counts that allege he kept sensitive military documents, shared them with people who didn't have security clearance, and tried to thwart the government's attempts to get them back.

The final one is Trump's Georgia criminal trial is set for Aug. 4. In that case, Trump stands accused of trying to interfere in the state's 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty.