President Trump appeared in court on Wednesday as E. Jean Carroll testified in a trial where the jury will decide how much Trump has to pay for his so-called ‘defamatory’ statements about her.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, previously ruled that Trump is liable for defamatory statements he made about E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of rape.
In 2019, E. Jean Carroll alleged Donald Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
Trump has denied the allegations and called E. Jean Carroll a “whack job” who’s “not my type.”
E. Jean Carroll sobbed as she testified on Wednesday. She was represented by her attorneys Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan (no relation to Judge Kaplan).
“I am here because Donald Trump assaulted me, and when I wrote about it he lied and he shattered my reputation,” Carrol told the jury on Wednesday.
Carroll told the jury that she “expected” Trump to respond to allegations of rape when she first went public in 2019.
“I thought he was going to deny it and say it was consensual, which it was not,” Carroll claimed as she lamented that Trump instead denied even knowing her when he said, “I have never met this woman in my life.”
“He said I made it up to sell a book, and that is a lie,” and “said my false accusations damaged the real victims of assault, and that is a lie,” Carroll said to the jury.
Carroll made a stunning admission under questioning about her Trump media tour. She said she did 4 TV interviews and several podcasts to promote her book.
Roberta Kaplan: Did you promote your book – switching gears, sorry
E. Jean Carroll: I did 4 TV interviews. & 4 or 5 podcasts
Roberta Kaplan: What did you talk about?
E. Jean Carroll: The journalists wanted to hear about President Trump. I saw that the book was not selling – so I tried to talk about it
RK: Did you promote your book – switching gears, sorry
Carroll: I did 4 TV interviews. & 4 or 5 podcasts
RK: What did you talk about?
Carroll: The journalists wanted to hear about President Trump. I saw that the book was not selling – so I tried to talk about it— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 17, 2024
E. Jean Carroll admitted in court that the Lincoln Project’s George Conway, a toxic Never Trumper, convinced her to sue Trump.
George Conway
Roberta Kaplan: When did you decide to sue?
E. Jean Carroll: I was at a party with George Conway. He took me aside. He had an iPad. He explained the difference between a criminal case and a civil case. He took me through the steps. He said he could suggest an attorney
RK: When did you decide to sue?
Carroll: I was at a party with George Conway. He took me aside. He had an iPad. He explained the difference between a criminal case and a civil case. He took me through the steps. He said he could suggest an attorney— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 17, 2024
Carroll also said Trump’s ‘defamatory’ statements led to an online army of trolls bullying her.
Attorneys representing Carroll blamed Trump for online attacks against their client.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said Trump’s statements in defense of false accusations of rape have given E. Jean Carroll ‘more fame than she could have ever dreamed of.’
“She is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her. But in today’s day and age, the internet always has something to say, and it’s not always going to be nice,” Alina Habba said according to NBC News.