Trump goes to trial on Tuesday on rape charges.
The former president of the United States is accused by writer E. Jean Carroll. The rape allegedly occurred in a department store in the mid-1990s.
Reuters - Donald Trump goes to trial this Tuesday, where writer E. Jean Carroll is accusing the former US president in a civil lawsuit of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Jury selection is set to begin in federal court in Manhattan, where the former Elle magazine columnist is also suing Trump for defamation.
Trump, 76, denied raping Carroll, 79. He called her claim a "hoax" and "complete fraud" in an October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform. He said she fabricated the encounter to promote her memoirs and declared that she "wasn't my type!"
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Trump is not required to appear at the trial. His lawyers said he may not attend, citing the likelihood of security problems and traffic delays. Carroll's lawyers said they do not plan to call Trump as a witness.
If Trump were to testify, he would likely face aggressive cross-examination. Trump has repeatedly attacked Carroll on personal terms since she publicly accused him of rape in 2019. He has claimed she has mental health issues.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the case, is keeping jurors anonymous from the public, including lawyers, to protect them from potential harassment by Trump supporters.
The trial could last one to two weeks.
Trump, the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, faces a series of lawsuits and investigations.
This includes criminal charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for clandestine payments to a porn star.
Trump pleaded not guilty to these charges on April 4 in a New York state court, a three-minute walk from Tuesday's hearing.
The former president also faces civil fraud charges from New York Attorney General Letitia James against his namesake company.
Trump also faces criminal investigations into interference in the 2020 Georgia presidential race and classified government documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago residence, as well as investigations into his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In all of these cases, Trump denied any wrongdoing.
Carroll said his meeting with Trump at the Bergdorf Goodman store took place in late 1995 or early 1996.
She said Trump recognized her, calling her "that lady from the council," and asked for help buying a gift for another woman.
Carroll said Trump "maneuvered" her into a dressing room, where he closed the door, forced her against the wall, pulled down her pantyhose, and penetrated her. She said she broke free after two to three minutes.
Trump's lawyers may try to undermine Carroll's credibility by pointing out that she did not call the police and remained publicly silent for more than two decades.
They may also dispute their inability to remember the date or even the month of the alleged attack.
Carroll said the #MeToo movement inspired her to perform.
Two women she said she trusted after the attack, author Lisa Birnbach and former news anchor Carol Martin, are expected to testify.
Carroll's list of witnesses also includes two other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, which Trump denies.
Carroll's lawyers could use her testimony to establish a pattern of Trump's alleged mistreatment of women.
They must also present the jury with a tape from "Access Hollywood" in 2005, in which Trump made explicit and vulgar comments about women.
Carroll is also suing Trump for defamation after he first denied her rape allegation in June 2019, when he was still president. That case remains pending before Kaplan.