Testimony continued Wednesday on the sixth day of former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll's civil defamation and battery case against former President Trump.
abcnews.go.com
Former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll continued to shop at Bergdorf Goodman, the Manhattan department store where she claimed
Donald Trump raped her, because "she didn't feel that Bergdorf Goodman raped her," a psychologist testified Wednesday in Carroll's civil defamation and battery case against the former president.
"She didn't blame the store. She blamed herself," said Dr. Leslie Lebowitz, who evaluated Carroll for the case.
The defense suggested the fact that Carroll continued to shop at Bergdorf's, saved the dress she wore the evening of the alleged assault, and watched Trump's reality television show, "The Apprentice," were behaviors out of step with the
deep trauma Carroll said she suffered.
Lebowitz pushed back against the inference from the defense that Carroll's rape claim against Trump could not be true because she did not act like it actually happened.
"I think anywhere Ms. Carroll could see evidence that she was negatively affected by what happened, she would fight against it. So to not go back into Bergdorf's would have been really obvious, given how much she loved that store," Lebowitz said.
The same holds true for the dress, Lebowitz said.
"I think that she loves clothes and that was the most expensive dress she'd ever brought," Lebowitz said. "It would have been impossible to avoid the realization that she was that negatively affected."
As for watching "The Apprentice," Lebowitz said there was excitement about the show in Carroll's professional and social circles. To not watch would have forced her to reveal why.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Chad Seigel asked Lebowitz if her diagnosis concluded that Carroll had been raped.
"You're not offering an opinion in this case whether Ms. Carroll was raped?" Seigel asked.
"I'm not," Lebowitz replied.
Lebowitz said that Carroll did meet some of the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, including exhibiting signs of memories affected by trauma. She described a moment during her evaluation when Carroll "began to squirm in her seat" because she appeared to be "re-experiencing" elements of the alleged assault.
She also told the jury that rape victims commonly experience self-blame.
Or was I too subtle? LOL But I like your answer!
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