Donald Trump files defamation lawsuit over writer’s department store rape allegations U.S. News

Former US President Donald Trump is being tried under oath over a lawsuit brought by a magazine columnist who says he raped her in a department store locker room.

In a 2019 book, E Jean Carroll accused Mr Trump of raping her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York.

But the former president angrily denied her claims, saying she was “totally lying” and that the allegation was a “hoax.”

In her defamation lawsuit, Ms. Carroll, an advice columnist for Elle magazine and sometimes an aunt on television, said Mr. Trump’s remarks had damaged her reputation.

on Wednesday, Mr Trump Testifying under oath, which gave Ms Carroll’s lawyers an opportunity to question him over the assault charges.

FILE - In this March 4, 2020 file photo, E. Jean Carroll talks to reporters outside a New York courthouse. Lawyers for Carroll, who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump, say the U.S. Justice Department has made a...wrong and dangerous...argument as it seeks to defend him.  E. Jean Carroll's attorney writes in a court filing late Friday, April 16, 2021 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)
picture:
E Jean Carroll in 2020.Image: Associated Press

His legal team has struggled for years to delay his testimony in the lawsuit, which was filed when the Republican was still president.

Last week, a federal judge rejected Mr. Trump’s request for another delay, saying he could not “time out while plaintiffs are trying to get redress for what is said to be a serious wrong.”

His lawyers did not comment on the testimony.

In a recent statement, Mr. Trump even denied knowing the writer.

“I don’t know this woman, I don’t know who she is, except that she seems to have taken a picture of me and her husband shaking hands at the reception line of a celebrity charity event many years ago,” he said.

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Credibility and character aggression

Anything Trump said in his testimony could be used as evidence in an upcoming civil trial.

He is not facing any criminal charges related to Ms Carroll’s allegations and is unlikely to be charged.

The deadline for bringing criminal charges against alleged sexual assaults in the 1990s has long expired.

Similar legal deadlines apply to civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault. As a result, Ms. Carroll chose to sue Mr. Trump for defaming comments he made in 2019 when he denied any wrongdoing.

She insists her reputation has been damaged by his denials and attacks on her credibility and character.

However, New York lawmakers recently gave people a year to file old sexual assault allegations in civil court.

Ms Carroll’s lawyer told the court she intended to bring such a lawsuit against Mr Trump when the window opened in late November.

According to Ms Carroll, she bumped into Mr Trump while the two were shopping at the Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue across from Trump Tower.

At the time, Ms Carroll was the host of the consulting show “Ask E Jean” on television.

She said the two had a friendly banter when she tried to help him pick out gifts. But when they were briefly alone in the dressing room, she claimed he raped her.

Ms Carroll’s lawsuit comes as the former president faces Department of Justice Criminal Investigation To keep government records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he leaves office in January 2021.

Last month, Mr Trump and his three children were also service of action Alleged “years of bank, tax and insurance fraud”.

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