UNITED STATES: The question of whether author E. Jean Carroll was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump more than twenty years ago will be discussed by the jury on Tuesday as they begin their deliberations.
Trump has denied raping Carroll and charged her with fabricating the incident to boost sales of her 2019 memoir. After seven days of a civil trial, Carroll’s and Trump’s attorneys made closing statements in Manhattan federal court.
Trump stated on his Truth Social platform that he was not allowed to speak or defend himself against a bogus accusation. He will hold off speaking until after the trial but will appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of him as a candidate regardless of the outcome.
Carroll, then 79, claims Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in 1995 or 1996 at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan. Trump later denied the incident, defaming Carroll. She is suing for an undetermined amount of money damages. His defamation claim relates to a post he made on Truth Social in October 2022, which labelled her claims “a complete con job” and “a hoax and a lie”.
Trump decided not to make a defence during the trial, hoping that the jury would find Carroll’s case unpersuasive. Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, claimed that a 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump claims to have sexually assaulted women supported the claims made by Carroll and other women.
Kaplan argued that Trump admitted on video to doing the same things that brought them to court. Two of Carroll’s lifelong friends testified that she confided in them about the incident and that they trusted her.
Two additional women spoke before the jury, alleging different incidences of sexual assault by Trump on them decades ago. Trump refuted such allegations, arguing that the defence was asking the jury to accept the “ridiculous” allegation that the other witnesses had planned to lie.
Donald Trump refuted Carroll’s allegations of being raped in a video deposition, saying it was fabricated. His attorney Joe Tacopina informed the jury that Trump was unable to defend himself due to Carroll’s unclear account. Tacopina added that they wanted the former US President to despise Carroll so much that they chose to ignore the truth.
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