New York woman accuses Donald Trump of 'brutal rape'

Donald Trump pinned a woman against a wall in a Midtown department store in the mid-1990s. He raped her and then tried to “humiliate” her when she came forward. This version of events 30 years ago was heard by a Manhattan jury on April 25 during the opening hearings in the high-profile case of the rape of the writer E. Jean Carroll, which was allegedly committed by the 45th President of the United States, reports Daily News.

Speaking before a jury in Manhattan federal court, plaintiff's lawyer Sean Crowley described Carroll's meeting with Trump in the spring of 1996. It started when Carroll was leaving the Bergdorf Goodman in Midtown Manhattan.

“They started talking. Trump asked Carroll to help him choose a gift for the woman. The interlocutor agreed, deciding that this would make a funny story, ”Crowley explained.

Climbing the escalators to the empty sixth floor to the lingerie department, Trump walked to the counter, grabbed a lacy swimsuit and tossed it to Carroll. Crowley said they joked about trying it on.

“Still laughing, they moved into the fitting room. Moreover, Carroll thought that he could really try on this underwear, ”Crowley noted.

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“Once they got inside, everything changed. It suddenly became unfunny. Donald Trump pinned Carroll against the wall. He pressed his lips to hers. She tried to break free, but she couldn't. Trump was almost twice her size. He squeezed her hand, pulled off her pantyhose, and then sexually assaulted her,” the plaintiff’s lawyer said.

“He's a big man. And he was determined,” he stressed, describing the sexual assault and rape in detail.

Carroll, who is scheduled to testify in court, broke free a few minutes later and fled the store on Fifth Avenue.

Crowley said Trump slandered Carroll when she recounted the incident decades later. At the time, the most powerful person in the world called her "a liar and a fraud."

"Donald Trump's reaction was explosive," Crowley remarked, and described how "he went on the attack seeking to destroy and humiliate" her.

“When President Trump called E. Jean Carroll a liar, people listened. And her hard-earned reputation as a journalist and writer was seriously damaged,” Crowley stated. "He even said, 'Miss Carroll must be lying, because' I quote here, 'she's not my type.' He said she was too ugly to be attacked.”

When Trump left the White House, he "seemed fit to drag her name into the mud again"

In his opening remarks, Trump's lawyer Joe Takopina lashed out at Carroll, calling her a liar. He accused her and friends, whom she told about the alleged attack, of plotting to harm Trump politically.

Tacopina said Carroll got what she deserved after she went public with her allegations. According to him, she fabricated them to sell the book.

“It was true that he called her a liar,” Takopin assured. “He never raped her or slandered her.”

The pompous lawyer who represents Trump in his criminal case said Carroll and her friends “hated Donald Trump.”

“So who could come up with such a story and who could agree to it? - Takopin addressed the audience. - People with a political bias. People with financial motives. And people who want to be the center of attention. Who could come up with such a sick story.”

He told jurors that no matter how much they feel disgust for the former president, those feelings must remain outside the courtroom.

“People have very strong feelings about Donald Trump, one way or another,” Takopina said. It's okay to feel what you feel. You can hate Donald Trump. This is fine. But there is a time and place for that where you can express those feelings. It's called the ballot box."

The opening statements came hours after six men and three women were selected as jurors. Carroll arrived at the courthouse shortly before 9 am. Trump did not show up on the first day of his case. Takopina told the judge he did not know if Trump would attend the trial.

Before the hearing began, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Lewis Kaplan told jurors that their identities would remain anonymous. He advised them not to tell each other their real names. They will be escorted to and from the courthouse by U.S. marshals during the hearing.

Kaplan advised jurors not to tell their friends or relatives what case they would try if they were chosen.

In deciding that the jury will be anonymous, the judge previously referred to Trump's allegations of attacks on officials involved in his various court cases. And that they can provoke violence and civil unrest.

“The goal is to protect you in every way,” Kaplan said.

Judge Kaplan explained to the jury that they would have to determine what happened or did not happen in the department store, whether Carroll was raped, and whether she should receive compensation and in what amount.

The case is one of a string of legal challenges Trump is facing in his race for the Republican presidential nominee. He faces 34 criminal charges related to the infamous payment of money to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The New York Attorney General sued him for business fraud.

In addition, he is under criminal prosecution in the state of Georgia for attempting to undermine the 2020 election, and special counsel Jack Smith for removing classified documents from the White House.

Carroll, 79, a former Elle magazine columnist, waited five years to present her case to a jury.

Her original lawsuit against Trump, filed in 2019, is still pending appeals. The case, now pending, went to court in November as the first filed under New York's Adult Victims Act, which lifted the one-year statute of limitations for filing sexual assault claims.

Carroll said she never had sex with a man again after a disturbing meeting with Trump, which she kept quiet for decades out of fear that he would ruin her reputation.

The women who accused Trump of sexual assault must testify. So did the two friends Carroll told about the incident. “One of them advised her to call the police. The other said not to say a word. And warned Carroll that Trump would ruin her life,” Crowley summed up. “Overwhelmed with fear and shame, she remained silent for decades.”