Trial opens in E. Jean Carroll's rape lawsuit against Trump
By LARRY NEUMEISTER and JENNIFER PELTZ
4 mins ago
NEW YORK (AP) — A former advice columnist’s nearly 30-year-old rape claim against Donald Trump went to trial Tuesday as jurors in the federal civil case heard her allegation of being attacked in a luxury department store dressing room. The former president says nothing happened between them.
E. Jean Carroll will testify that what unfolded in a few minutes in a fitting room in 1996 “would change her life forever,” one of her lawyers, Shawn Crowley, said in an opening statement.
“Filled with fear and shame, she kept silent for decades. Eventually, though, silence became impossible,” Crowley said. And when Carroll broke that silence in a 2019 memoir, the then-president “used the most powerful platform on Earth to lie about what he had done, attack Ms. Carroll’s integrity and insult her appearance.”
Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina painted her story as wildly implausible and short of evidence, and described it as “an affront to justice.” He accused her of pursuing the case for money, status and political reasons.
“It all comes down to: Do you believe the unbelievable?” Tacopina told the six-man, three-woman jury. He urged the panel in heavily Democratic New York to put politics aside in weighing the case against the Republican ex-president and ex-New Yorker.
“You can hate Donald Trump. That’s OK. But there’s a time and a secret place for that. It’s called a ballot box in an election. It’s not here in a court of law,” Tacopina said. “Nobody’s above the law, but no one is beneath it.”
The trial is in civil court, meaning that no matter the outcome, Trump isn't in danger of going to jail. He isn't required to be in court, either, and his lawyers have indicated he most likely won't testify.
The trial comes a month after he pleaded not guilty in an unrelated criminal case surrounding payments made to bury accounts of alleged extramarital sex.
Jurors — whose names are being kept secret to prevent potential harassment — range in age from 26 to 66 and include a janitor, a physical therapist and people who work in security, health care collections, a library, a high school and other settings. One said she follows news by watching “everything”; another said he didn’t follow it at all.
They were questioned about their news-watching habits, political donations and support for any of a roster of right- and left-wing groups. They were asked, too, whether they used Trump’s social media platform, read Carroll’s former Elle magazine column and even if they’d seen Trump’s former reality show “The Apprentice” — and whether any of these and other matters would make it difficult for them to be fair.
Carroll is expected to testify that a chance encounter with Trump turned violent, and that he defamed her when responding to the rape allegations. She's seeking unspecified damages and a retraction.
She says that after she ran into the future president at Manhattan's Bergdorf Goodman on an unspecified spring Thursday evening in 1996, he invited her to shop with him for a woman's lingerie gift before they teased one another to try on a garment. Carroll says they ended up alone together in a store dressing room, where Trump pushed her against a wall and raped before she fought him off and fled.
Since Carroll first made her accusations, Trump has vehemently denied that a rape ever occurred or that he even knew Carroll.
Trump has labeled Carroll a “nut job” and “mentally sick.” He claimed she fabricated the rape claim to boost sales of her book.
“She’s not my type,” he has said repeatedly, although during sworn questioning in October, he also misidentified her in a photograph as his ex-wife Marla Maples.
Carroll didn't stop to speak with reporters as she arrived at the courthouse Tuesday morning.
Jurors are also expected to hear from two other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Trump.
Jessica Leeds is set to testify that Trump tried to put his hand up her skirt on a 1979 flight on which the two were assigned neighboring seats. Natasha Stoynoff, a former People magazine staff writer, will testify that Trump pinned her against a wall and forcibly kissed her at his Florida mansion when she went there in 2005 to interview Trump and his then-pregnant wife Melania Trump.
Jurors will also see the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is heard making misogynistic remarks about women, including an assertion that celebrities can grab, even sexually, women without asking.
Carroll's allegations normally would be too old to bring to court. But in November, New York state enacted a law allowing for suits over decades-old sexual abuse claims.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who will preside over the trial, rejected a request by Trump's lawyers that jurors be told that the ex-president wanted to spare the city the disruption his presence might cause.
Trump could still decide to attend the trial and testify. If he does not, the jury might be shown excerpts from his deposition, which was recorded on video.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll, Leeds and Stoynoff have done.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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Kat
There's a lot to be said for nowhere. Posts: 4,777
He was shown a photo of Ms. Carroll and said it was a photo of Marla Maples...but Ms. Carroll was not his type. I'm letting that one sink in.
"“She’s not my type,” he has said repeatedly, although during sworn questioning in October, he also misidentified her in a photograph as his ex-wife Marla Maples."
Falling down,...not staying down
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 36,348
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
i am trying to see how this has any bearing on the case.
one can argue that if no juror believes those things, then the jury is not a jury of trump's peers.
but then they can also make the argument that since none of them are former presidents or millionaires they are not his peers either.
My guess is that the judge was using the question as a litmus test to determine bias in favor of Trump.
I’m thinking the judge was checking to see if they are grounded in reality and that they’re of mental competency to judge a POS POOTWH, in all his brilliant brilliance of brilliancy.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Brandon should walk out on the south lawn, approach the assembled press corps, snap open his suit jacket, reach inside and withdraw some documents, and wave them around and explicitly state, “if POOTWH wants to see the documents, he’s always welcome to stop by FBI headquarters and review them. Would you let him know that, please?” And then wave them around some more for effect and walk away.
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
"The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera." - Yusuf Karsh
Sad thing is some folks will believe every bit of that nonsense.
"Chinatown!" IE: A University of Pennsylvania building where Biden's think tank is located. This disingenuous piece of shit cannot spit out one sentence with embellishing the truth.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,464
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
Hey bud...umm, none. The trial happening this week is civil. The trial for his first indictment won't get underway until next year. And the other indictments have not even happened yet.
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
Hey bud...umm, none. The trial happening this week is civil. The trial for his first indictment won't get underway until next year. And the other indictments have not even happened yet.
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
haha....haha? what?
Haha Juggler, you really think he's going to get the death penalty? I told you he wouldn't get the death penalty.
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
Hey bud...umm, none. The trial happening this week is civil. The trial for his first indictment won't get underway until next year. And the other indictments have not even happened yet.
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
haha....haha? what?
Hey bud... umm, So you think he could still go to jail? hahaha and ummm... lots of people here and elsewhere have clearly said he should be in jail or go to jail.. wait listen.... I can hear someone else saying it right now somewhere..... you know what the means? It means another angel just got their wings!!!!
The only thing I've said is this is circus for the challenged that think in the end it will matter.. here's another prediction, as soon as the election is over and if he loses this will all quietly go away..
and seriously? I can find posts here saying he should be in jail during the Russiagate nonsense...
Post edited by myoung321 on
"The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera." - Yusuf Karsh
Sad thing is some folks will believe every bit of that nonsense.
"Chinatown!" IE: A University of Pennsylvania building where Biden's think tank is located. This disingenuous piece of shit cannot spit out one sentence with embellishing the truth.
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
Hey bud...umm, none. The trial happening this week is civil. The trial for his first indictment won't get underway until next year. And the other indictments have not even happened yet.
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
haha....haha? what?
Hey bud... umm, So you think he could still go to jail? hahaha and ummm... lots of people here and elsewhere have clearly said he should be in jail or go to jail.. wait listen.... I can hear someone else saying it right now somewhere..... you know what the means? It means another angel just got their wings!!!!
The only thing I've said is this is circus for the challenged that think in the end it will matter.. here's another prediction, as soon as the election is over and if he loses this will all quietly go away..
and seriously? I can find posts here saying he should be in jail during the Russiagate nonsense...
Quoting the Juggler "Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?"
JAIL? This MFer is in New Hampshire instead of a NYC RAPE trial, where he's the accused rapist.
The House of Representatives, a body that HE CONTROLS, just passed the WORST bill full of the worst ideas those sick fucks could put in one place, in the entire history of the institution. Raging against this asshole (and his enablers) on the reg isn't because the wokeAF think justice/jail is the end goal or even attainable. It's to get this fat fuck the hell up off of us. He's fucking relentless.
Bristow 05132010 to Amsterdam 2 06132018
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,464
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
Hey bud...umm, none. The trial happening this week is civil. The trial for his first indictment won't get underway until next year. And the other indictments have not even happened yet.
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
haha....haha? what?
Hey bud... umm, So you think he could still go to jail? hahaha and ummm... lots of people here and elsewhere have clearly said he should be in jail or go to jail.. wait listen.... I can hear someone else saying it right now somewhere..... you know what the means? It means another angel just got their wings!!!!
The only thing I've said is this is circus for the challenged that think in the end it will matter.. here's another prediction, as soon as the election is over and if he loses this will all quietly go away..
and seriously? I can find posts here saying he should be in jail during the Russiagate nonsense...
This is a lot of words that say literally nothing and do not answer my question.
My next question is why did you bother to even respond?
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
Hey bud...umm, none. The trial happening this week is civil. The trial for his first indictment won't get underway until next year. And the other indictments have not even happened yet.
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
haha....haha? what?
Hey bud... umm, So you think he could still go to jail? hahaha and ummm... lots of people here and elsewhere have clearly said he should be in jail or go to jail.. wait listen.... I can hear someone else saying it right now somewhere..... you know what the means? It means another angel just got their wings!!!!
The only thing I've said is this is circus for the challenged that think in the end it will matter.. here's another prediction, as soon as the election is over and if he loses this will all quietly go away..
and seriously? I can find posts here saying he should be in jail during the Russiagate nonsense...
This is a lot of words that say literally nothing and do not answer my question.
My next question is why did you bother to even respond?
I had the exact same thought after reading it.
There's no discourse there, it's just word salad that accomplishes nothing.
Comments
NEW YORK (AP) — A former advice columnist’s nearly 30-year-old rape claim against Donald Trump went to trial Tuesday as jurors in the federal civil case heard her allegation of being attacked in a luxury department store dressing room. The former president says nothing happened between them.
E. Jean Carroll will testify that what unfolded in a few minutes in a fitting room in 1996 “would change her life forever,” one of her lawyers, Shawn Crowley, said in an opening statement.
“Filled with fear and shame, she kept silent for decades. Eventually, though, silence became impossible,” Crowley said. And when Carroll broke that silence in a 2019 memoir, the then-president “used the most powerful platform on Earth to lie about what he had done, attack Ms. Carroll’s integrity and insult her appearance.”
Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina painted her story as wildly implausible and short of evidence, and described it as “an affront to justice.” He accused her of pursuing the case for money, status and political reasons.
“It all comes down to: Do you believe the unbelievable?” Tacopina told the six-man, three-woman jury. He urged the panel in heavily Democratic New York to put politics aside in weighing the case against the Republican ex-president and ex-New Yorker.
“You can hate Donald Trump. That’s OK. But there’s a time and a secret place for that. It’s called a ballot box in an election. It’s not here in a court of law,” Tacopina said. “Nobody’s above the law, but no one is beneath it.”
The trial stands to tests Trump's “Teflon Don” reputation for shaking off serious legal problems and to reprise accounts of the type of sexual misconduct that rocked his 2016 presidential campaign as he seeks office again. He denies Carroll’s claim and all the others, saying they were falsehoods spun up to damage him.
The trial is in civil court, meaning that no matter the outcome, Trump isn't in danger of going to jail. He isn't required to be in court, either, and his lawyers have indicated he most likely won't testify.
The trial comes a month after he pleaded not guilty in an unrelated criminal case surrounding payments made to bury accounts of alleged extramarital sex.
Jurors — whose names are being kept secret to prevent potential harassment — range in age from 26 to 66 and include a janitor, a physical therapist and people who work in security, health care collections, a library, a high school and other settings. One said she follows news by watching “everything”; another said he didn’t follow it at all.
They were questioned about their news-watching habits, political donations and support for any of a roster of right- and left-wing groups. They were asked, too, whether they used Trump’s social media platform, read Carroll’s former Elle magazine column and even if they’d seen Trump’s former reality show “The Apprentice” — and whether any of these and other matters would make it difficult for them to be fair.
Carroll is expected to testify that a chance encounter with Trump turned violent, and that he defamed her when responding to the rape allegations. She's seeking unspecified damages and a retraction.
She says that after she ran into the future president at Manhattan's Bergdorf Goodman on an unspecified spring Thursday evening in 1996, he invited her to shop with him for a woman's lingerie gift before they teased one another to try on a garment. Carroll says they ended up alone together in a store dressing room, where Trump pushed her against a wall and raped before she fought him off and fled.
Since Carroll first made her accusations, Trump has vehemently denied that a rape ever occurred or that he even knew Carroll.
Trump has labeled Carroll a “nut job” and “mentally sick.” He claimed she fabricated the rape claim to boost sales of her book.
“She’s not my type,” he has said repeatedly, although during sworn questioning in October, he also misidentified her in a photograph as his ex-wife Marla Maples.
Carroll didn't stop to speak with reporters as she arrived at the courthouse Tuesday morning.
Jurors are also expected to hear from two other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Trump.
Jessica Leeds is set to testify that Trump tried to put his hand up her skirt on a 1979 flight on which the two were assigned neighboring seats. Natasha Stoynoff, a former People magazine staff writer, will testify that Trump pinned her against a wall and forcibly kissed her at his Florida mansion when she went there in 2005 to interview Trump and his then-pregnant wife Melania Trump.
Jurors will also see the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is heard making misogynistic remarks about women, including an assertion that celebrities can grab, even sexually, women without asking.
Carroll's allegations normally would be too old to bring to court. But in November, New York state enacted a law allowing for suits over decades-old sexual abuse claims.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who will preside over the trial, rejected a request by Trump's lawyers that jurors be told that the ex-president wanted to spare the city the disruption his presence might cause.
Trump could still decide to attend the trial and testify. If he does not, the jury might be shown excerpts from his deposition, which was recorded on video.
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll, Leeds and Stoynoff have done.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"“She’s not my type,” he has said repeatedly, although during sworn questioning in October, he also misidentified her in a photograph as his ex-wife Marla Maples."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
one can argue that if no juror believes those things, then the jury is not a jury of trump's peers.
but then they can also make the argument that since none of them are former presidents or millionaires they are not his peers either.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
he only feels safe in mar a lago
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
I keep saying it... if anyone truly thinks any president or ex-president will ever spend a day in jail then i have some bridges I'd love to sell you...
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
Why are you under the assumption that people think he should already be in jail? Why do you think people realistically think he will be in jail in the future, even if found guilty?
haha....haha? what?
The only thing I've said is this is circus for the challenged that think in the end it will matter.. here's another prediction, as soon as the election is over and if he loses this will all quietly go away..
and seriously? I can find posts here saying he should be in jail during the Russiagate nonsense...
So please use the backspace key and try again
A. His lips are moving.
Read more carefully.
The House of Representatives, a body that HE CONTROLS, just passed the WORST bill full of the worst ideas those sick fucks could put in one place, in the entire history of the institution.
Raging against this asshole (and his enablers) on the reg isn't because the wokeAF think justice/jail is the end goal or even attainable.
It's to get this fat fuck the hell up off of us. He's fucking relentless.
My next question is why did you bother to even respond?
There's no discourse there, it's just word salad that accomplishes nothing.