Trial begins Tuesday at Manhattan Federal Court on Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit accusing the former U.S. president, Donald Trump of rape rape in New York City, mid-1990s.
Jury selection is expected to begin in court, where the former Elle magazine columnist is also suing Trump for defamation after he first denied her rape claim in June 2019, while in office.
Trump, 76, has denied raping Carroll, calling her claim a “hoax” and “complete scam” in an October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform.
He said she made up the encounter to promote her memoir and declared that she was “not my type!”
Carroll said her encounter with Trump at the Bergdorf Goodman store occurred in late 1995 or early 1996.
She said Trump recognized her, calling her “that advice lady,” and asked for help in buying a gift for another woman.
Carroll recalled that Trump “maneuvered” her into a dressing room where he shut the door, forced her against a wall, pulled down her tights and raped her. She said she broke free after two to three minutes.
She said the #MeToo movement inspired her to come forward after two decades of the incident.
Two women in whom she said she confided after the attack, author Lisa Birnbach and former news anchor Carol Martin, are expected to testify.
Carroll’s witness list also includes two other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, which Trump denies.
Credible News reports that Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential election faces a slew of lawsuits and investigations.
These include Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg’s criminal charges over hush money payments to a porn star which Trump pleaded not guilty to on April 4 at a New York state courthouse, a three-minute walk from Tuesday’s trial.
The former president also faces civil fraud charges by New York Attorney General Letitia James into his namesake company.
Trump also faces criminal probes into interference in Georgia’s 2020 presidential race and into classified government documents recovered at his Mar-a-Lago residence, including inquiries into his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In all of these cases, Trump has denied wrongdoing.
