NEW YORK: Contemporary off a marketing campaign victory in Iowa, Donald Trump sat in a New York courtroom on Tuesday (Jan 16) to defend himself for a second time in opposition to prices that he defamed author E Jean Carroll after she accused him of raping her many years in the past.
Trump watched from the defendant’s desk as Carroll’s lawyer instructed a jury that the then-US president made her life depressing when she went public in 2019 together with her story that he had attacked her in a division retailer dressing room in Manhattan.
“He used the world’s largest microphone to assault Ms Carroll, to humiliate her, and to destroy her fame,” lawyer Shawn Crowley stated.
Carroll, 80, is searching for no less than US$10 million in damages in a civil case that may put the allegations of sexual assault again within the headlines whereas he pursues the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Crowley stated Trump’s “horrible” lies unleashed a torrent of abuse from his followers and wrecked her sense of security.
“As he is campaigning for president of the USA, Donald Trump continues to lie about Ms. Carroll,” Crowley stated.
Jurors will solely contemplate how a lot Trump ought to pay Carroll in damages, not whether or not the alleged assault came about or whether or not Trump lied about it afterward.
US District Decide Lewis Kaplan stated he expects the trial to final three to 5 days.
Trump, 77, has stated he desires to testify.
He might spend a lot of this yr shuttling between marketing campaign rallies and courtrooms, as he seeks to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
He gained the primary state contest in Iowa on Monday by a large margin, and opinion polls present him main within the subsequent contest in New Hampshire every week from at present.
Trump has pleaded not responsible in 4 prison circumstances that would doubtlessly land him in jail earlier than the November presidential election, together with two that accuse him of making an attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He is also a defendant in no less than two different civil circumstances.
Trump has solid himself because the sufferer of political persecution. On Tuesday, he stated Kaplan ought to dismiss the case.
“Decide Kaplan ought to put this complete corrupt, Crooked Joe Biden-directed Election Interference assault on me instantly to relaxation,” he posted on social media. “He ought to do it for America.”
SECOND TRIAL
Trump’s excessive profile was obvious as potential jurors had been screened for the case. Many acknowledged they had been aware of Trump’s varied authorized troubles, although none stated they knew the small print of the primary defamation trial.
Many stated that they had backed Democratic candidates in earlier elections, reflecting the New York Metropolis space’s left-leaning tilt, and one stated she had volunteered for Biden’s 2020 marketing campaign.
Two others stated they believed Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen from him. One stated she used to work for his daughter Ivanka. They weren’t chosen for the jury.
Jurors’ identities are being saved confidential.
