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Trump is accused of rape. Jury reaches verdict in Jean Carroll case

A federal jury in New York has reached a verdict in a civil case indicting former President Donald Trump. Battery and defamation. The case is author E. Gene stemmed from Carroll’s allegations that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The verdict is expected to be announced in court at 3pm.

A jury of six men and three women took up the case on Tuesday The discussion lasted for less than three hours.

During the eight-day trial, Carroll’s attorneys pressed a case to the jury about how her allegations fit a pattern, or “modus operandi,” for Trump. In addition to witnesses who said Carroll confided in them after the alleged assault, the jury heard from two other women who described Trump turning casual encounters into sexual misconduct. They also watched the “Access Hollywood” video clip in which Trump can be heard eloquently describing women’s genitalia.

Trump’s lawyers did not call any witnesses And He did not testify At trial they argued that the 10 witnesses Carroll and his team called conspired to smear a former president out of hatred for him.

On Tuesday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social before the verdict, saying he was “not allowed to speak or defend myself, even with hard-nosed reporters shouting questions about the case.”

Trump columnist case

E. Jean Carroll arrives in federal court in New York, Monday, May 8, 2023 Former President Donald Trump has turned down his last chance to testify in a civil trial in which a longtime advice columnist accused him of raping her at a luxury department store. Dressing room in 1996.

Seth Wenig/AP

Trump was allowed to testify in his own defense, but he did not.

Carroll accused Trump of assaulting and raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in New York City in the mid-1990s, and then defaming her after publishing her account in 2019. Trump, who claims he’s never met Carroll and “she’s not my type,” vehemently denies her allegations.

Her statements about Carroll were the basis of her defamation claim. The jury was shown a photo from the late 1980s showing Trump and Carroll in conversation with their then-spouses. They also saw the moment Trump’s videotaped deposition When he was shown the picture and wrongly Carroll was identified by his ex-wife as Marla Maples. Defense attorney Roberta Kaplan argued that this was evidence that Carroll was indeed Trump’s “type.”

After Trump was told about women making mistakes during his deposition, he said the picture was “unclear.”

Carroll testified during the trial, saying she bumped into Trump while leaving the store one evening. She said Trump recognized her, saying, “Hey, you’re that mentor woman,” referring to a magazine column she wrote for nearly three decades. She said he replied, “Hey, you’re that real estate tycoon.”

Carroll, then 52, said Trump, then 50, asked for advice on buying a gift for a daughter. He described the cheerful, “joshing” banter as he observed the store, even after he suggested they go to the underwear department.

Carroll, who wrote for “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s, said the encounter seemed like a funny scene, until things took a dark turn when they walked into a dressing room.

Carroll said Trump pushed her against the wall, her head banging against it. She said Trump forced his hand inside her, causing severe pain, and then penetrated her with his penis.

Carol said as she managed to force her knees between them, pushing her away before walking away as fast as she could.

She said she told two other people after the alleged assault, her friends Lisa Bernbach and Carol Martin. Both were called to testify at trial, providing testimony that largely matched Carroll’s recollection.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina showed jurors emails and text messages between Carroll, Martin and Bernbach that showed their hostility toward Trump, who was then president, as the defense tried to portray a politically motivated effort by the trio to discredit Carroll’s story. to him.

Tacopina characterized the case as one where Trump “has no story to tell” because he said Carroll’s claims are completely fabricated. In his closing argument, Kaplan said the jury had to decide who was telling the truth: the “nonstop liar” Trump, or the 11 people who testified under oath on Carroll’s behalf.

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