Civil lawsuit for rape and defamation against Donald Trump is over

The civil trial in New York against Donald Trump, accused of rape and defamation by a former journalist, came to an end on Monday May 8 with a final pass of arms between lawyers, those of the former president denouncing a plot

Civil lawsuit for rape and defamation against Donald Trump is over

The civil trial in New York against Donald Trump, accused of rape and defamation by a former journalist, came to an end on Monday May 8 with a final pass of arms between lawyers, those of the former president denouncing a plot.

After these last pleadings of the two camps, long and combative, a jury of nine citizens will have to decide from Tuesday if the billionaire must pay damages to E. Jean Carroll.

She accuses him of having raped her in the spring of 1996, in a fitting room of a luxury department store in New York, Begdorf Goodman, then of having defamed her, after she had brought the first accusations in a book in 2019.

"No one, not even a former president, is above the law," said Roberta Kaplan, opening her closing argument. The lawyer represents the former columnist for Elle magazine, in front of the six men and three women who make up the jury.

"They want you to hate him enough to ignore the facts," retorted Donald Trump counsel Joe Tacopina during a 2:30 closing argument, again accusing the plaintiff of making up the story of all pieces.

Donald Trump assured that "she is not his type"

Donald Trump never appeared in federal court in Manhattan during the two weeks of the trial, and the jury had to be satisfied Thursday with the video of his testimony in the procedure, where he repeats not to remember E. Jean Carroll and assures that "she is not his type".

But Roberta Kaplan recalled that the former White House tenant confused the complainant in a photo with his former wife, actress Marla Maples. E. Jean Carroll "was exactly his type," the lawyer assured.

The 79-year-old plaintiff was able to sue under a New York state law that allows victims of sexual assault to file civil suits, even if criminally barred.

If there are no eyewitnesses who saw Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll more than 25 years ago on the shelves - deserted according to the plaintiff - of the store, two close friends of the journalist confirmed in court that she had confided to them, shortly after the alleged facts, that she had been "assaulted" or "attacked" by the businessman.

And two women, among those who have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault in the past, also gave their testimony before the jury.

According to Me Kaplan, the former American president would have acted each time according to the same "modus operandi", the one he himself describes in a video that became famous, where we hear in 2005 boasting of kissing and touch women as he pleases.

" Common sense "

Donald Trump's lawyer conceded that his client could speak "crudely" about women, but "that doesn't make an incredible story believable," he said.

Pointing to inconsistencies and the lack of physical evidence, he appealed to the "common sense" of the jury: if Donald Trump had assaulted E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room, "he would have been arrested immediately".

She "never went to the police" because otherwise "they would have investigated," he said. Describing an outright conspiracy, the lawyer even suggested that E. Jean Carroll was inspired by an old episode of the detective series "SVU" based on a rape at Bergdorf Goodman.

According to him, the former journalist wanted to sell her book better in 2019. E. Jean Carroll has always explained that she had not denounced the facts for fear that Donald Trump would destroy her reputation.

Her lawyer recalled that she testified "for more than two full days, answering every question," including "why she didn't scream." Donald Trump "never looked you in the eye to deny," added, addressing the jury, another lawyer for E. Jean Carroll, Mike Ferrara.

Even in civil proceedings, a conviction would add to the legal troubles of the former president, again a candidate for the White House in 2024. In early April, an unprecedented event for a former American president, he was charged with criminal charges in New York for 34 accounting and tax frauds linked to payments to cover up embarrassing cases before the 2016 presidential election.