E. Jean Carroll Files Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Rape: E. Jean Carroll’s attorneys spent the Thanksgiving holiday filing their long-threatened lawsuit alleging former President Donald Trump of rape, just as they had promised for months.
E. Jean Carroll Files Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Rape
Previously, the renowned journalist had implicitly accused Trump of assaulting her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman store in the 1990s by filing a defamation lawsuit against him.
The statute of limitations had long since prevented such lawsuits, but New York lawmakers overcame that obstacle by passing the Adult Survivors Act, which took effect on Thursday.
-
E. Jean Carroll Files Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Rape: E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump
‘The Music Had Stopped,” Carroll asserts in her latest lawsuit that the alleged rape left her with lifelong anguish.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, stated in the lawsuit that she has not been able to maintain a romantic connection since the day Trump assaulted her because of the trauma and suffering brought on by his sexual assault. She hasn’t had sex with anyone since then, either. Carroll finds it tough to stay in an intimate relationship and has trouble trusting guys. In Carroll’s own words, after Trump accosted her at Bergdorf’s, “the music had stopped” and “the light had gone out.”
The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s conduct met the standard of six crimes under New York’s penal code, including rape in the first degree, rape in the third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, sexual abuse in the third degree, sexual misconduct, and forcible touching.
According to the lawsuit, Trump’s actions qualified as six offenses under New York’s criminal code, including first- and third-degree rape, sexual abuse in the first and third degrees, sexual misconduct, and forceful touching.
Carroll claims that one of the reasons she remained silent for two decades was because sexual assault victims are often viewed as “spoiled goods” in society. She also complained that nearly every woman who bravely shared her abuse story was asked, “Why didn’t you scream?” and “Why didn’t you come forward immediately?”
The complaint states that Trump willfully attacked Carroll to sate his own sexual needs, without Carroll’s agreement, under the first claim of sexual battery. Under all conditions, Trump’s physical contact with Carroll was rude and improper. Carroll tried to resist Trump, but he persisted in attacking and raping her.
In a previous iteration of the lawsuit, Trump was accused of disparaging Carroll in interviews with journalists when he was president of the United States. This sparked a protracted legal dispute about whether or not Trump was eligible for protection under the Westfall Act.
The Crosshairs of One of the World’s Most Powerful Men
By focusing on Trump’s criticism of Carroll, which he made on his platform Truth Social in October, well after he had left office, the new case avoids this problem.
“I’m not the type for this woman,” Trump tweeted in response to his 406-word statement that was attached with a photo of Carroll.
Trump has a history of disparaging the physical attributes of the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, the lawsuit claims. At a speech, Trump remarked, “Believe me, she would not be my first pick, that I can assure you,” in reference to a lady who alleged he placed his hand up her skirt on a flight.
According to reports, he allegedly said to another lady who said Trump kissed and pinned her against a wall without her permission: “Take a look, you take a look. Look at her first, then at her words, and then let me know your thoughts. I don’t believe so.
The lawsuit claims that after he was cited by a female journalist as saying in a 1992 interview that “you have to treat women like trash,” Trump later asserted, “The woman’s a liar, incredibly unattractive, lots of difficulties because of her appearance.”
Trump’s criticisms, according to Carroll, have damaged her reputation.
According to the lawsuit, “coming forward put Carroll in the crosshairs of one of the most powerful men on the globe.” Since then, he has developed and exploited his own effective social media platform to attack her character, disparage her looks, call her a liar, and claim that she made up a rape allegation in order to promote a book.
What monetary compensation and punitive penalties Carroll is suing for are not specified in the case.
Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor, claimed that Carroll’s new complaint “much simplifies” her work and “greatly complicates” Trump’s argument.
Epner, who is now a partner at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, P.C., said: “Ms. Carroll simply needs to prove that Donald Trump raped her in Bergdorf Goodman. She no longer needs to argue whether Trump’s denial of the rape when he was president was proper for him to do so. In terms of damages, proving that Trump calling her a liar caused her specific economic harm is unnecessary if the rape claim is successful.
