Civil Lawsuit against Donald Trump for Rape and Defamation Comes to an End

By Le Figaro with AFP

Published on 08/05/2023 at 17:32

The civil lawsuit against Donald Trump in New York, accused of defamation and rape by a former journalistcomes to an end with, Monday, May 8, the pleadings of the lawyers of the complainant and the defense.

Manhattan federal court broke up last week on a video of a deposition of the former president of the United States, dating from last October, in which he defends himself against the lawyer of E. Jean Carroll, Roberta Kaplan. This 48-minute video was made public on Friday and released by the press.

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«No one, even a former president, is above the law“, Hammered by opening his argument Roberta Kaplan, addressing a civil jury of six men and three women. E. Jean Carroll, a former journalist and columnist for Elle magazine, now 79, accused Donald Trump in a 2019 book of raping her in a dressing room of a luxury department store in New York in the mid-1990s.

“Invention from scratch”

She then sued him for defamation, then last November for rape in a civil suit thanks to a new law in New York State, allowing victims of sexual assault to relaunch their civil lawsuit despite criminal facts.

Roberta Kaplan recalled that her client testified in court “over two full days, answering every question“, in particular on “why she didn’t screamduring the alleged facts more than 25 years ago.

Donald Trump did not appear in court but excerpts from the video, recorded during the proceedings in October 2022, were released on Thursday. “This is the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It’s an invention from scratch“, he assured, qualifying E. Jean Carroll as “liar” and of “sick».

“Exactly his style”

He repeated that he did not know his accuser, reaffirming that she was “not (his) gender“. But, once the lawyer shows him a photo where he is in front of E. Jean Carroll at a party years before their alleged 1996 meeting, he confuses the complainant with his ex-wife Marla.

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«The truth is that» E. Jean Carroll «was exactly his type“retorted Roberta Kaplan on Monday. After the civil party’s argument, it will be the turn of the Trump camp, before the jury retires to deliberate on Tuesday. The verdict, later this week, will not be criminal but civil, to determine the possible responsibility of Donald Trump and the level of damages.