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A New York civil court on Tuesday charged a journalist with raping former US President Donald Trump in incidents dating back to the mid-1990s. But his lawyer vehemently denied this and accused the former columnist of greed and striving for fame. The 76-year-old former president between 2017 and 2021 is seeking to win a second term in the November 2024 elections, but he faces mounting lawsuits.
In a new episode of judicial consequences facing the president The American formerly accused Donald Trump In a civil court in New York, on Tuesday, a female journalist was raped in the mid-nineties of the last century.
And yet more than 25 Years after the facts, nine jurors, six men and three women, who were chosen Tuesday before a federal court in Manhattan, will try to reveal this case, which is represented by the existence of two completely contradictory narratives.
In evidence of the sensitivity of the trial, which is supposed to last between five and ten days, Judge Lewis Kaplan confirmed that the jurors’ identities would not be revealed to avoid any pressure.
and since 2019 E Jean Carroll and her attorneys allege that the former President of the United States “groped and raped” her after luring her into a fitting room at Bergdorf Goodman’s New York department store, on a date she can’t remember exactly but in the “spring of 1996“.
“As soon as they entered (the cabin), everything changed. Suddenly it wasn’t fun,” Sean Crowley of Carroll’s lawyers said at the start of the hearing.
“Trump’s physique is twice as big”
“Trump’s build is almost twice as strong as her (journalism’s) build,” said the lawyer.
She explained that the columnist was silent for a while 20 years for fear of ruining her reputation at the hands of a powerful man. But after the #MeToo movement, the journalist who was writing for Elle magazine in the United States decided to speak out in a book published in 2019.
Two female friends of the journalist, who had confided to them what happened shortly after the incidents, will give their testimony.
Donald Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, criticized what he considered “contempt for the judiciary”. He said in front of Carroll (79 years old), who was staring at him, “She is exploiting the system for money, for political reasons and for her prestige.”
But, realizing that the personality of Donald Trump, who was absent from the opening hearing of the trial and will likely miss the following sessions, may cause a refusal in New York, Tacubina made sure to tell the jury: “You can hate Donald Trump (…) but not here in court”.
The jury will have to determine the amount of damages that can be awarded to the writer.
The former president (2017-2021) old 76 To win a second presidential term in November 2024but he faces mounting lawsuits.
And in early April, in an unprecedented event for a former US president, Trump was formally accused in New York of34 An accounting and tax fraud involving payments to cover up confusing issues ahead of the 2008 presidential election 2016including a sexual relationship with pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, which he has denied.
“Not his type.”
Carol rose in 2019 A defamation lawsuit first against Trump because he called her accusations a “total lie” and asserted that she was not his “type (of women)”.
His lawyer said he enjoys immunity as head of state.
But in november 2022a law entered into force in New York State (the “Adult Survivors Act”) that allows victims of sexual assault within a year to re-launch civil legal proceedings, even if the facts are criminally obsolete.
Which is why E. Jean Carroll filed a new civil complaint for “defamation” but also “assault”.
Judge Lewis Kaplan noted that Donald Trump has not been criminally charged with rape, but that “assault” could be “unwarranted touching without the consent of the person concerned.”
During a statement during the proceedings, Donald Trump reiterated his line of defense: “I will say it with the greatest of respect: first, she’s not my type, and second, it never happened.”
But in front of the photo in which he appeared with E. Jane Carroll at a reception years before the facts, Trump confused his accuser with… his ex-wife, actress Marla Maples, whom he married to. 1993 to 1999.
The Republican billionaire has faced accusations of sexual assault by other women on several occasions in the past, which he has always denied.
France 24/AFP
