Before his accuser took the stand, Donald Trump referred to E Jean Carroll’s alleged rape in an online post on Truth Social as a “made-up scam” and added, “This is a fraudulent and false story – witch hunt!”
A writer who claims Donald Trump assaulted her in a department store dressing room nearly three decades ago stated in court, “I’m here to try and get my life back.”
“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he lied and said it didn’t happen,” E Jean Carroll told a jury in a New York federal court.
“He lied about me and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try to get my life back.”
The 79-year-old former advice columnist for Elle magazine seeks unspecified damages from Mr. Trump.
Wednesday, she took the witness stand in her civil lawsuit against the former president of the United States to testify about a chance encounter with him in the mid-1990s that allegedly turned combative.
She claimed that after meeting Mr. Trump at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, they teased each other to put on lingerie.
Ms. Carroll claimed Mr. Trump sexually abused her in a changing room before she left.
She told the jury that she blamed herself and feared being dismissed and retaliation from Mr. Trump if she reported the “extremely painful” encounter.
“As I’m sitting here today, I can still feel it,” she said. It rendered me incapable of having a romantic existence ever again.
Ms. Carroll told her counsel, “I may have said it, but I’m not sure.”
Since her 2019 biography, Mr. Trump, 76, has denied raping Ms. Carroll or knowing her.
He called her a “nut job” and “mentally ill” and claimed she fabricated the rape allegation to increase book sales.
Ms. Carroll told the Manhattan courtroom, “I’m not in any way settling a political score.”
“I’m settling a personal score because he repeatedly called me a liar, destroying my reputation,”
She lost eight million subscribers and was labelled a liar after claiming Elle sacked her over Mr. Trump’s accusations.
When asked if she regretted breaking her silence, she responded, “About a hundred times, but the ability to finally have my day in court is everything to me.”
Before the hearing began, Mr. Trump, who is not anticipated to testify, referred to Ms. Carroll’s attorney as a “political operative” and the rape allegation as “a con.”
“This is a false and fraudulent story – witch hunt!” Mr. Trump wrote in his post on Truth Social.
District Judge Lewis Kaplan warned Mr. Trump’s counsel that discussing the matter could lead to more legal troubles.
Ms. Carroll sued Mr. Trump for his rape-related defamation.
It is being heard in a federal civil court, so Mr. Trump cannot be imprisoned regardless of the verdict.
It comes at a time when Mr. Trump is once again running for president.
Normally, the allegations would be too old to bring to court. But in November, the state of New York passed a law permitting lawsuits over decades-old sexual abuse allegations.
