Judge rejects Trump DNA offer in E Jean Carroll rape defamation case | Donald Trump

[ad_1]

Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he didn’t rape writer E Jean Carroll, a federal judge said Wednesday, clearing a potential hurdle in an April trial.

The judge, Lewis A Kaplan, rejected an 11th-hour offer by Trump’s legal team to provide a DNA sample to disprove claims Carroll first made publicly in a 2019 book.

Kaplan said attorneys for Trump and Carroll had more than three years to make DNA an issue in the case and both chose not to.

He said the trial scheduled to begin April 25 will almost certainly be delayed to reopen the DNA issue four months after the deadline passed to confuse concerns about trial evidence and weeks before the trial.

Trump’s lawyers did not immediately comment. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, declined to comment.

Carroll’s lawyers searched for Trump’s DNA for three years to compare it to stains found on the clothing Carroll was wearing the day she said Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in late 1995. or early 1996. DNA testing on the clothing concluded that it contained traces of the DNA of an unknown person.

Trump has denied knowing Carroll, repeatedly saying he never raped her and accusing her of making the claim to stoke sales of his book. She sued him for defamation and under a New York law that allows alleged victims of sexual assault to sue for alleged crimes outside the common law statute of limitations.

After refusing to provide a DNA sample, Trump’s lawyers changed tack, saying they would provide one if Carroll’s lawyers turned over the full DNA report on the clothing.

But Kaplan said Trump did not provide a compelling reason to relieve him of the consequences of his failure to seek the full DNA report in a timely manner.

The judge also noted that the report found no evidence of sperm cells and that reopening the dispute would raise a “complicated new topic in this case that both sides chose not to pursue for a period of years.” “.

He said a positive match of Trump’s DNA to the dress would only prove that there was an encounter between Trump and Carroll on the day she wore the dress, but would not prove or disprove that a rape occurred and could prove completely inconclusive. . .

Kaplan added: “His conditional invitation to open a door he has kept closed for years threatens to change the nature of a trial for which both parties have now been preparing for years. If the Whether or not Mr Trump’s application was intended for a dilatory purpose, the potential prejudice to Ms Carroll is apparent.”

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they go public, as Carroll did.

Carroll’s case is just one more source of legal risk for Trump, who is now one of two candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

He also faces an investigation into a hush money payment to a porn star who claimed an affair, investigations into his financial and tax affairs, investigations into his attempts to subvert the election, and investigations into his maintenance of classified records.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support at 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available on 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

[ad_2]