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| Jury selected as Donald Trump’s civil rape trial begins in New York | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Columnist E Jean Carroll alleges that the real estate mogul sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store nearly 30 years ago | |
| A federal court jury in New York was selected on Tuesday to hear evidence that Donald Trump raped the famed advice columnist E Jean Carroll nearly three decades ago. | |
| Jurors were expected to hear opening arguments from both sides in the case on Tuesday afternoon and could possibly begin listening to witness testimony before the end of the day. | |
| Carroll alleges that Trump pinned her against the wall of a New York department store and sexually assaulted her in late 1995 or early the following year as they shopped together. She brought the case last year under a New York state law opening a one-year window for adult victims of sexual assault to file civil cases after the statute of limitations has expired. | Carroll alleges that Trump pinned her against the wall of a New York department store and sexually assaulted her in late 1995 or early the following year as they shopped together. She brought the case last year under a New York state law opening a one-year window for adult victims of sexual assault to file civil cases after the statute of limitations has expired. |
| Carroll did not comment to reporters when she arrived at the courthouse on Tuesday morning. | |
| The case is, at least so far, the only one to come to court among more than a dozen allegations of rape, groping and other sexual assaults against the former president as well as accusations that he walked unannounced into women’s dressing rooms at beauty pageants. | The case is, at least so far, the only one to come to court among more than a dozen allegations of rape, groping and other sexual assaults against the former president as well as accusations that he walked unannounced into women’s dressing rooms at beauty pageants. |
| Trump is not expected to attend the trial after his lawyers said he will not testify. Although Carroll’s lawyers could ask the judge to put Trump on the stand as a hostile witness, they have said they do not intend to do so. | Trump is not expected to attend the trial after his lawyers said he will not testify. Although Carroll’s lawyers could ask the judge to put Trump on the stand as a hostile witness, they have said they do not intend to do so. |
| Trump’s legal team had proposed to ask potential jurors whether they thought “the #MeToo movement has gone too far” and about their views of the sexual assault allegations made against Brett Kavanaugh during the Senate hearing into his appointment to the supreme court. | |
| Carroll’s lawyers sought to identify potential jurors who followed Trump on his social media network, Truth Social. They also wanted to ask if any of them believed Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Legal experts say that the judge, Lewis Kaplan, was likely to limit overtly political questions. | |
| Kaplan has ordered that members of the jury not be identified in public because of the “significant risk” they could be subject to outside pressure and targeted for “retaliation and harassment from persons unhappy with any verdict that might be returned”. | Kaplan has ordered that members of the jury not be identified in public because of the “significant risk” they could be subject to outside pressure and targeted for “retaliation and harassment from persons unhappy with any verdict that might be returned”. |
| Carroll accuses Trump of assaulting her in a dressing room of the New York department store Bergdorf Goodman after he asked for help in choosing a present for a friend. She said the businessman pressured her to try on a see-through bodysuit and then entered the dressing room with her. | Carroll accuses Trump of assaulting her in a dressing room of the New York department store Bergdorf Goodman after he asked for help in choosing a present for a friend. She said the businessman pressured her to try on a see-through bodysuit and then entered the dressing room with her. |
| Carroll said she pushed the businessman away after he forcibly kissed her. | Carroll said she pushed the businessman away after he forcibly kissed her. |
| “Then he pressed her against the wall once more, pulled down her tights, and forcibly raped her for several minutes until she managed to push him off and fled the store,” according to the lawsuit. | “Then he pressed her against the wall once more, pulled down her tights, and forcibly raped her for several minutes until she managed to push him off and fled the store,” according to the lawsuit. |
| Among the witnesses expected to be called by Carroll are two women who say that she swiftly told them about the alleged assault. Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin have since corroborated the account. | Among the witnesses expected to be called by Carroll are two women who say that she swiftly told them about the alleged assault. Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin have since corroborated the account. |
| Carroll said she did not file a complaint with the police at the time because she “was in shock and did not wish to think of herself as a rape victim”. She also said Martin advised her to “keep quiet” because Trump was a powerful businessman who would “bury” Carroll. | Carroll said she did not file a complaint with the police at the time because she “was in shock and did not wish to think of herself as a rape victim”. She also said Martin advised her to “keep quiet” because Trump was a powerful businessman who would “bury” Carroll. |
| Carroll changed her mind when Trump was elected president and after the accusations against the film producer Harvey Weinstein that led to the #MeToo movement. She wrote a book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, detailing abuse of one kind or other by a number of men, including Trump. Excerpts were published in New York magazine. | Carroll changed her mind when Trump was elected president and after the accusations against the film producer Harvey Weinstein that led to the #MeToo movement. She wrote a book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, detailing abuse of one kind or other by a number of men, including Trump. Excerpts were published in New York magazine. |
| Trump called Carroll’s allegations “a complete con job” and said her book “should be sold in the fiction section”. | Trump called Carroll’s allegations “a complete con job” and said her book “should be sold in the fiction section”. |
| “She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her. It is a Hoax and a lie,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. | “She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her. It is a Hoax and a lie,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. |
| Carroll has two separate cases against Trump. The first accuses him of libelling her in 2019 when he denied her accusations. That case has yet to come to trial. | Carroll has two separate cases against Trump. The first accuses him of libelling her in 2019 when he denied her accusations. That case has yet to come to trial. |
| The Associated Press contributed reporting |