Writer E. Jean Carroll testifies in civil trial over Donald Trump’s alleged rape

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A writer has explained in detail how Donald Trump impeached him nearly 30 years ago, in a civil trial to determine whether the former US president assaulted him and then lied about it.

This story contains details that some people may be dealing with.

Key points:E. Jean Carroll testifies in court accusing former US president Donald Trump of rape and defamation The alleged assault took place in a department store dressing room in the 1990s Mr Trump did not attend the trial , seeking unspecified damages

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote this, he lied and said it never happened,” E. Jean Carroll told jurors in federal court in Manhattan.

“He lied and ruined my reputation, and I’m here to try to get my life back.”

Ms Carroll, 79, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, is seeking unspecified damages from Mr Trump, 76, who is leading the Republican field in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Her lawsuit concerns an alleged encounter in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996, during which she said Mr Trump sexually assaulted her before escaping.

Ms Carroll said Mr Trump defamed her by calling her rape claim a hoax, a lie and a “complete con job” on her Truth Social media platform, saying she was not his “type” and made the claim to sell his memoirs.

She is also suing under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which allows adults to sue their alleged abusers long after the statute of limitations has expired.

Mr Trump did not attend and was not required to attend the trial, which began on Tuesday.

He has a campaign event scheduled in New Hampshire on Thursday, and both sides have indicated that Mr Trump is unlikely to testify.

‘I still feel it,’ the Trump accuser said

Ms Carroll testified that she had met Mr Trump several years before the alleged rape, finding him “very personable” and a “guy about town”.

In Bergdorf, Ms Carroll recalled she was leaving the store when Mr Trump recognized her and raised his hand. He stopped.

“He said, ‘Hey, you’re the advice girl’,” Ms Carroll recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, you’re the real estate tycoon’.”

Ms Carroll said Mr Trump was joking in a “joshing” tone while she was shopping for underwear for another woman.

She said Mr Trump asked her to try on a piece of lingerie, prompting her to joke that she should try it on.

Ms Carroll said Mr Trump then lured her into an open dressing room, closed the door, pushed her against the wall, and pulled down her tights. She choked back tears as she described pushing him back.

Mr Trump’s fingers “went into my penis, which was very painful, very painful,” and “he also put his penis in,” she said.

“As I sit here today I still feel it,” he said. “It left me unable to have a romantic life again.”

Asked by her lawyer if she told Mr Trump “no,” Ms Carroll said “I might have said it” but she didn’t know.

He also said he blamed himself, and feared he would be fired and Mr Trump would retaliate if he reported him.

Inspired by the #MeToo movement, Ms Carroll came forward in 2019, and rejected Mr Trump’s repeated suggestions that it was because he didn’t like his politics.

“I’m not settling a political score at all,” Ms Carroll said.

“I’m settling a personal score because he called me a liar over and over again, and it really ruined my reputation.”

She said Mr Trump’s attacks had caused Elle to drop her, costing her 8 million readers, and left others convinced she was a liar.

Ms Carroll was stunned when asked if she regretted ending her silence.

“I’ve regretted this about 100 times,” she said.

“But in the end getting my day in court is finally all mine.”

Mr Trump’s lawyers are expected to question Ms Carroll on Thursday, including about her inability to remember when the alleged rape took place.

Outside interference

Mr Trump posted his latest comments on Truth Social about an hour before testimony began on Wednesday.

He asked how anyone could believe he was “so famous, in short!” Ms Carroll may have been raped.

“He didn’t scream?” Mr Trump wrote. “No witnesses? No one saw it?”

A judge said Mr Trump could be “interfering with a new source of liability” if he continues to post about the case on social media.(Reuters:Ricardo Arduengo)

The posts led Judge Kaplan to tell Mr Trump’s legal team, outside the presence of the jury, that Mr Trump appeared to be “making an effort, certainly, to communicate with his quote-unquote public” and the jury about things that are “no business talking. about”.

Judge Kaplan also said Mr Trump could be “interfering with a new source of liability” if he continued.

Mr Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said he would tell Mr Trump to stop.

But concern about social media influencing the trial resurfaced after Mr Trump’s son Eric tweeted on Wednesday afternoon about Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn and prominent Democratic donor who helping fund Ms Carroll’s case.

Eric Trump said Mr Hoffman’s involvement was “a disgrace to our country, should be illegal and tells you everything you need to know about the case.”

Judge Kaplan told Mr Tacopina that such comments had to stop.

“There are some relevant US laws here, and someone on your side should be thinking about them,” Judge Kaplan said.

The judge also said Donald Trump’s lawyers could not mention Mr Hoffman in the trial, calling it “unfairly prejudicial”.

Reuters/ABC

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