Key events in the case of E. Jean Carroll accusing Donald Trump of rape

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NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) – Here’s a timeline of former Elle magazine advise columnist E. Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit accusing former US President Donald Trump of rape and defamation, which will go to trial on Tuesday.

June 2019 – Carroll publishes an excerpt from her memoir, “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal,” which includes an allegation that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

June 2019 – Trump denies Carroll’s accusations, telling a White House reporter related to Carroll: “I’ll say this with a lot of respect: Number one, he’s not my type. Number two, it didn’t happen . It didn’t happen, OK ?”

November 2019 – Carroll sues Trump for defamation in New York state court in Manhattan.

September 2020 – The US Department of Justice moves the case to federal court, alleging that Trump spoke about Carroll in his official capacity as president, and that the government should replace Trump as a defendant.

October 2020 – US District Judge Lewis Kaplan refuses to replace the government as a defendant, saying Trump is not a government employee and his statements were not made within the scope of his job as president.

2021-September 2022 – Carroll’s case is largely on hold while Trump appeals Kaplan’s decision. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan is hearing the appeal in December 2021.

Sept. 20, 2022 – Carroll says he plans to sue Trump a second time for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, citing New York state’s new Adult Survivors Act. The law gives adults a one-year grace period beginning Nov. 24 to sue their alleged attackers, even though the statutes of limitations had long since expired.

Sept. 27, 2022 – The 2nd Circuit agrees with Trump that he was a government employee when he first spoke about Carroll, but says it is uncertain whether, under Washington, DC’s local laws, Trump spoke in his capacity as president. It asks the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for guidance. That court has scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 10, 2023.

Oct. 12, 2022 – Trump reiterates his denials of Carroll’s claims. On his Truth Social website, he called the “Ms. Bergdorf Goodman case” a “complete con job,” a “fraud,” a “lie” and a “complete Scam,” and said he did not know Carroll and he was “I can’t type!”

October 19, 2022 – Trump impeached in Carroll’s first case. He denied Carroll’s claims and called him mentally ill.

November 24, 2022 – Carroll files her second lawsuit, accusing Trump of defaming her in his Oct. 12 Truth Social post and accusing her of battery.

Feb. 15, 2023 – Kaplan rejects Trump’s offer to provide a DNA sample to be compared to the clothing Carroll says she was wearing the day he raped her.

March 10, 2023 – Kaplan rejects Trump’s effort to exclude from trial a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape of him making graphic, vulgar comments about women, and testimony from two other women alleging that he sexually assaulted them.

March 23, 2023 – Kaplan says the jurors will remain anonymous in the trial, citing the threat that Trump supporters and others could harass them.

March 28, 2023 – Kaplan denies Trump’s request to throw out the defamation claim in Carroll’s second lawsuit. Trump argued that he was only commenting on Carroll’s first case, making his comments protected speech.

April 13, 2023 – The DC Court of Appeals declines to rule on whether Trump acted as president when discussing Carroll in June 2019, saying it lacked sufficient facts. It provides guidance to the 2nd Circuit appeals court on the applicable law – guidance that may help Carroll in his first lawsuit.

April 17, 2023 – Kaplan rejects Trump’s bid to postpone the April 25 trial, saying alleged “prejudicial media coverage” was largely fueled by the former president.

April 20, 2023 – Kaplan says Trump doesn’t have to attend the trial but rejects his effort to get jurors to view his absence in a positive light by telling them it’s meant to avoid logistical burdens. Trump cited traffic and security concerns.

April 25, 2023 – Jury selection is scheduled to begin.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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