NY – Ex POTUS Donald Trump, sued by E. Jean Carroll, DT found liable re sexual assault, $5M award, countersuit dismissed, appeal rejected, 2023

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Donald Trump lost his second attempt to block a People magazine writer from testifying that he groped her, bolstering E. Jean Carroll’s allegations that the former president is a serial sexual abuser.



 
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Former President Donald Trump has hired a Kansas City attorney onto his defense team ahead of a federal civil trial set to begin this week over a claim that Trump raped the writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

W. Perry Brandt, a Kansas City lawyer with the firm Sandberg Phoenix, has joined five other attorneys who will represent Trump during the trial in New York City.

Jury selection starts Tuesday, and Brandt formally entered his appearance in the case Friday.
 
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This is a bit long - but wanted to capture pertinent info - will shorten it up!

Tuesday, April 25th:
*Trial set to begin with Jury Selection (@ 9am ET) - New YorkE. Jean Carrol’s battery, emotional distress, rape & a 2nd act of defamation (for Trump's comments on Truth Social in October) lawsuit against Donald John Trump.
The lawsuit for defamation & under a New York law which allows alleged victims of sexual assault to sue over alleged crimes outside the usual statute of limitations. Trump lawyers: Joseph Tacopina, Alina Habba & W. Perry Brandt. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan
Carroll has sued Trump for defamation & for rape, saying Trump turned a friendly encounter at a luxury Manhattan department store in late 1995 or early 1996 into a violent rape.
Trial set to begin on 4/25/23 with jury selection re battery charges. Trial expected to last 5 to 7 days.
Defamation charges postponed by Judge Lewis Kaplan on 3/30/23. Carroll's first defamation lawsuit against Trump was filed in November 2019. But that case has been put on hold while Trump argues that a federal law protects him from being sued for defamation for comments he made while president.

2/15/23: Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he did not rape the writer E Jean Carroll, a federal judge said on Wednesday, clearing a potential roadblock to an April trial. The judge, Lewis A Kaplan, rejected the 11th-hour offer by Trump’s legal team to provide a DNA sample to rebut claims Carroll first made publicly in a 2019 book. Kidge Kaplan said lawyers for Trump & Carroll had more than three years to make DNA an issue in the case and both chose not to do so. He said it would almost surely delay the trial scheduled to start on 4/25/23 to reopen the DNA issue four months after the deadline passed to litigate concerns over trial evidence & weeks before trial. Carroll’s lawyers have sought Trump’s DNA for three years to compare it with stains found on the dress Carroll wore the day she says Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996. Analysis of DNA on the dress concluded it did contain traces of an unknown man’s DNA. Trump has denied knowing Carroll, saying repeatedly he never raped her and accusing her of making the claim to stoke sales of her book. She has sued him for defamation and under a New York law which allows alleged victims of sexual assault to sue over alleged crimes outside the usual statute of limitations.
3/30/23 Update: Judge Lewis Kaplan postponed indefinitely the previously scheduled April 25, 2023 defamation trial for the first of two lawsuits accusing former President Trump of defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll after she claimed he raped her in the mid-1990s. Judge Kaplan also denied a joint request by lawyers for Trump & Carroll to consolidate her two pending civil lawsuits against Trump into a single trial. Judge Kaplan in a brief order wrote that the attorneys overestimated the purported benefits of judicial economy & of avoiding potentially inconsistent rulings by combining the cases in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He also noted that the trial previously scheduled to start April 10, for the case filed in 2019, “could prove unnecessary” if the federal appeals court that is currently reviewing the case rules that the suit is barred by law. That appeals court currently is considering whether the comments made about Carroll in 2019 were within the scope of his job as president at the time, under Washington, D.C., local employment law. If they were, as the Justice Dept. has argued, Trump would be exempt from the claim of defamation. The second case was filed to take advantage of a new New York state law that suspended temporarily the statute of limitations that normally would block accusers in sexual assault cases from filing lawsuits against their alleged attackers if the incident had occurred many years before. Trump during a deposition by Carroll’s lawyers mistook a photo of Carroll for his ex-wife, Marla Maples. Battery charges are still on for trial on 4/25/23.
4/7/23 Update: The judge has held that the “Access Hollywood” tape, about grabbing women by the genitals, will be admissible at trial, and the judge will allow testimony from a couple of other women who say that Trump behaved improperly toward them. And the jury in a civil case does not need to be unanimous; even if there’s one Trump diehard supporter on the jury, who won’t find Trump liable no matter the evidence, the other jurors could still hold him liable. A Federal Judge refuses to loosen anonymous jury restrictions in Carroll vs. Trump, citing ex-presidents recent attacks on Justice Merchan & his family in the hush-money criminal case.
4/10/23 Update: U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan: Order regarding attendance of parties during trial. Each party is requested to inform the Court, in writing, no later than 4/20/23 of whether that party intends to be present throughout trial until completion & if not, the dates on which he or she intends to be absent from the trial proceedings for all or part of the day.
4/11/23 Update: Trump asks SDNY Judge Lew Kaplan to postpone E. Jean Carroll’s assault trial until late May. Why? Because of the substantial publicity surrounding the Manhattan DA’s recent indictment. In a Tuesday night letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Trump's lawyers said a four-week "cooling off" period to at least May 23 was necessary to guarantee the former U.S. president's right to a fair trial in Carroll's case. Trump's lawyers said holding a trial, expected to last several days, between May 23 & an Aug. 8 deadline to file all motions in the criminal case would result in a jury "far more likely to be impartial."
4/13/23 Update: The D.C. Court of Appeals has declined to answer whether then-President Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he allegedly defamed writer Carroll when denying her rape claim. On Thursday the D.C. Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over federal employees, returned the question to federal court in New York, where Carroll brought the suit. The opinion leaves in limbo whether the case can go forward, but Carroll filed a second lawsuit in November alleging defamation & battery that is scheduled for trial April 25.
4/13/23 Update: Trump asked a judge to delay a columnist’s assault & defamation trial set to being later this month after learning that a billionaire who has donated to Democratic causes has paid for some of the accuser’s legal fees. The information recently came to light when lawyers for Carroll informed Trump’s attorneys that “at some point, her counsel secured additional funding from a nonprofit organization to offset certain expenses & legal fees.” Trump’s attorneys said the backer is Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, who has a nonprofit. Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba asked the judge to reopen discovery, delay the trial one month, or instruct the jury of adverse inference instruction. It’s the second request by a Trump lawyer to delay the trial, which is scheduled to start on April 25. Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled Thursday that the defense can look into how Carroll’s legal bills are paid & may depose Carroll again for up to 60 minutes to question her on this matter only. Kaplan set tight deadlines for next week & specifically noted the issue will not delay the April 25 trial start date.
4/14/23 Update: In a new filing on Friday, Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina reiterated his longstanding arguments that his client’s historic indictment for allegedly falsifying business records in paying hush money to Stormy Daniels requires a “cooling off” period. On Thursday evening, Senior U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Thursday evening denied one of Tacopina’s other arguments for a delay — that he needed more time to scrutinize the issue of Carroll’s litigation funding. Also U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan on Friday rejected Trump's renewed effort to require that prospective jurors provide their names, employment & 38 other pieces of information on written questionnaires. Kaplan said the law was "abundantly clear" it was his choice whether to use questionnaires & nothing has changed his decision to seat an anonymous jury at the April 25 trial, reflecting the threat of juror harassment.
4/17/23 Update: For the foregoing reasons, Trump's request to adjourn the trial (Dkt 106) is denied. The trial will commence on April 25, 2023. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on 4/17/23). Trump seeks a month-long postponement of the April 25, 2023 trial). He does so on the theory that such a “cooling off” period following the media coverage of Trump’s indictment on New York State charges of falsification of business records is essential in order to select a fair & impartial jury in this civil case for alleged rape & libel. There is no justification for an adjournment. This case is entirely unrelated to the state prosecution. The suggestion that the recent media coverage of the New York indictment – coverage significantly (though certainly not entirely) invited or provoked by Trump’s own actions – would preclude selection of a fair & impartial jury on April 25 is pure speculation. So too is his suggestion that a month’s delay of the start of this trial would “cool off” anything, even if any “cooling off” were necessary. Judge Kaplan rejected another request to delay the trial after Trump's legal team said they had recently learned that a billionaire donor to Democratic causes has funded some of Carroll's litigation. The judge said he will allow Trump's lawyers to ask Carroll limited questions about the payments in a narrowly tailored pretrial deposition. He did not rule whether those questions would be permitted at trial.
4/20/23 Update: After instructions by court to clarify whether Trump will attend Carroll trial, Trump's lawyer Tacopina asked for jury instruction that Trump is "excused" from appearing. Although he can not be compelled by the judge to show up, without a subpoena. Lawyer wants the Judge to instruct the jurors: While no litigant is required to appear at a civil trial, the absence of the defendant in this matter, by design, avoids the logistical burdens that his presence, as the former president, would cause the courthouse & NYC. Accordingly, his presence is excused unless & until he is called by either party to testify." Carroll lawyer Robbie Kaplan caustically responds to Trump's request that the court tell jurors he is excused from trial because of the burden on the court & NYC. If he's got time for UFC matches & NRA conventions, she says, he can show up for a trial about rape. Has until Thursday, 4/20/23 to advise the court if he will attend. In a letter to the judge later Wednesday, 4/19/23, Carroll's lawyer signaled they were not planning to call Trump as a witness, and that his taped deposition should suffice. Roberta Kaplan said her client “has a right to play Trump’s deposition at trial” & that there's “no need for him to testify live.”
4/20/23 Update: Trump can skip E. Jean Carroll's trial, but for now, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan can't tell jurors that's to spare New Yorkers the "alleged burdens" logistically caused by his presence. Trump has been on notice of the April 25 trial date since on or about 2/7/23.. There has been quite ample time within which to make whatever logistical arrangements should be made for his attendance & certainly quite a bit more time then the 5 or 6 days between his recent indictment on state criminal charges & his arraignment on that indictment approximately one block from the location of the trial of this case. The question of the requested jury instruction is premature. Trump is free to attend, to testify, or both. He is free also to do none of those things. Should he elect not to appear or testify, his counsel may renew the request. In the meantime, there shall be no reference by counsel for Trump in the presence of the jury panel or the trial jury to Trump's alleged desire to testify or to the burdens that any absence on his part allegedly might spare, or might have spared, the Court or the City of New York - per Judge.
4/23/23 Update: Joe Tacopina has a new request in the Carroll case, again trying to revisit an issue Judge Lew Kaplan has already decided. The subject? Whether Trump's forced kissing of another woman after pushing her against a wall is enough to warrant her testimony. Carroll’s lawyers have responded. Not only is the ruling Trump seeks to clarify months old & past the deadline for motions for reconsideration, but it ignores that his forcibly kissing the witness, behind closed doors, could be construed as attempted sexual assault. Also, The lawyers for Carroll issued a response to a request from Trump that the judge presiding over their case, "clarify" one of his previous demands. Carroll's lawyer explained it's more like "reconsider." Trump previously asked that Carroll be forced to nix Natasha Stoynoff from their list of possible witnesses. She is one of several other women that alleged Trump forcibly kissed them or physically assaulted them. Judge Lewis Kaplan already dismissed his claim. So, Trump sent another letter asking for "clarification."
 
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Is there any video? Or anyone live-tweeting?
 
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Good question !!??
I found on the court website where it said trials are not televised.

But no mention of whether reporters in the room are allowed to live-tweet.

And if not, then surely some will be posting updates during breaks. We just need to figure out who those reporters are!
 
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I found on the court website where it said trials are not televised.

But no mention of whether reporters in the room are allowed to live-tweet.

And if not, then surely some will be posting updates during breaks. We just need to figure out who those reporters are!

I know today will start jury selection - so probably not letting anyone in - as they are going to keep all of them anonymous....
 
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No offense, but I wish they would move forward with the more serious charges. The voting public is much more jaded and weary than in the early aughts and 90's. Bread and circuses doesn't work as well as before.
Yes but personally, to this woman, battery on her person is a very serious charge.
 
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Erik Larson
@eelarson
Bloomberg News reporter

Judge Lewis Kaplan is about to bring in 48 jurors for voir dire. Before calling them in, he told both parties and their lawyers to "refrain from making any statements that will incite violence or civil unrest," echoing concerns he raised when he mandated using an anonymous jury

Trump isn't here and we don't know if he'll show up for any part of the 5-7 trial (defendants aren't required to attend in such cases). But I did just spot musician Ed Sheerhan in the court cafeteria, sporting a suit and sitting with his lawyers. His copyright trial is underway.

"The name of the game here is utter fairness and impartiality," Judge Kaplan says to the first group of potential jurors in the courtroom. He's letting them know he'll excuse them if they say they don't think they can be fair and impartial.

"I don't know your name, and nobody in this room knows your name," Judge Kaplan said. "God willing—no one will know your names and if you don't want anyone to know your names—that's within your power." The judge decided last month that the jury would be anonymous to protect them

tells prospective jurors the panel will be anonymous "to protect all of you from unwanted attention, from harassment, from invasions of your privacy & ensure that nothing nothing happens that could interfere with your ability to fairly & impartially decide the case."

Judge Kaplan has described to the prospective jurors the alleged assault as well as Trump's allegedly defamatory social-media post from last Oct. calling Carroll a liar. The judge says Trump denies it all. "That's the gist," Kaplan says. A few jurors say they can't be impartial

Ten prospective jurors were just excused by Judge Kaplan from the first group of 48 after they raised their hands to indicate they don't believe they can be impartial in the trial. The judge didn't ask them to elaborate. The rest are now being asked questions

Judge asks potential jurors if they are registered to vote. All present indicate they are. "That's something to be said for your democracy, " the judge said. "How about that, folks. That's terrific." Judge is now seeking to find out who among them are political involved

Not all of the potential jurors voted in 2016 and 2020, though, the judge is finding out. But some did give money to candidates like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. None of the potential jurors say they've been to a Trump rally or believe the 2020 election was stolen

Judge now asking if potential jurors support the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, the KKK, Thin Blue Line or Trump Supporters New York City, as well as the Communist Party. "No affirmative response," the judge says.
All of the potential jurors indicate that they can be fair to both sides regardless of whatever knowledge they may have about Trump's other legal woes. Someone indicates they watched "Celebrity Apprentice," but tells the judge they can be fair to both sides.

The judge asked the potential jurors if any of them believe that allegations of sexual assault are less believable if the victim waited decades to make their allegation, or if the victim didn't seek immediate medal help. None raised their hand for either question.

Judge Kaplan, after talking to lawyers for Trump and #EJeanCarroll at the sidebar, asks the potential jurors if any of them "believe Mr. Trump has been treated unfairly by the press." One man appears to say yes but tells the judge he can be fair and impartial regardless.
 
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Thank you, @sds71 ! Following eelarson on twitter now to stay updated.
 
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I do not believe her. Imagine getting "raped" in a dressing room and saying nothing to anyone working there, not calling police, not filing a complaint against him, not remembering the year or the day of the rape and waiting ~30 years to speak - despite knowing his identity <modsnip>.

Trump was photographed hundreds of thousands of times at parties/events/shows posing and talking with people. It does not mean he knows them or remembers them.

It is just BS.

JMHO
 
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I do not believe her. Imagine getting "raped" in a dressing room and saying nothing to anyone working there, not calling police, not filing a complaint against him, not remembering the year or the day of the rape and waiting ~30 years to speak - despite knowing his identity <modsnip>

Trump was photographed hundreds of thousands of times at parties/events/shows posing and talking with people. It does not mean he knows them or remembers them.

It is just BS.

JMHO
I totally agree with you. Such BS, <modsnip> MOO
 
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I do not believe her. Imagine getting "raped" in a dressing room and saying nothing to anyone working there, not calling police, not filing a complaint against him, not remembering the year or the day of the rape and waiting ~30 years to speak - despite knowing his identity <modsnip>

Trump was photographed hundreds of thousands of times at parties/events/shows posing and talking with people. It does not mean he knows them or remembers them.

It is just BS.

JMHO

<modsnip: Quoted post was modsnipped> What would prompt a woman to disclose an assault that she kept quiet for so many years?

I would speak out if I saw that the assailant was about to be working with children, or vulnerable people who would be at risk.

I would speak out if I was getting up in years and felt that the public should hear the truth before my voice is silence forever.

I would speak out if the assailant was heading for an office where people would have trust in his integrity. However, this could be very difficult because I know that I would not be believed, I would be despised and denigrated. It may even mean that my life could be at risk. I might not have the courage.

jmo
 
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"The criminal statute of limitations for this case has long expired.

And typically, the statute of limitations for people to bring civil lawsuits over sexual assault in New York is three years, meaning it too has long lapsed.

But in 2022, New York passed the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed a one-year period for victims to file sexual assault lawsuits in the state over claims that would have otherwise exceeded statute limitations.

Ms Carroll filed her lawsuit against Mr Trump almost immediately after the law took effect.

Before this case, the writer had also sued Mr Trump for defamation after he called her a liar following the publication of her memoir. That lawsuit is currently stalled as courts debate whether there is a legal right to sue ex-presidents."

 
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I do not believe her. Imagine getting "raped" in a dressing room and saying nothing to anyone working there, not calling police, not filing a complaint against him, not remembering the year or the day of the rape and waiting ~30 years to speak - despite knowing his identity <modsnip>

Trump was photographed hundreds of thousands of times at parties/events/shows posing and talking with people. It does not mean he knows them or remembers them.

It is just BS.

JMHO
I know someone raped at age 10 who never said anything to anyone until they were in their early 50's. It all depends on the mind of the victim. How someone reacts or doesn't react to trauma is very subjective. JMO
 
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