Jury sits in defamation battery trial against ex-President Donald Trump

New York City – A jury of six men and three women was selected Tuesday to hear the case of a former advice columnist who accused former President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s. A statement was scheduled for later in the day.

Federal civil court tests Trump’s “Teflon Don” reputation for brushing aside serious legal troubles and stands to restate testimony about the type of sexual misconduct that rocked the 2016 presidential campaign It is in. He denied E. Gene Carroll’s allegations and all others, saying they were falsehoods spun to hurt him.

Jurors were selected after asking questions about background as well as news-watching habits and more.

They asked whether they had made political contributions, supported any of the roster of right-wing and left-wing groups, used Trump’s social media platforms, read Carroll’s previous Elle magazine columns, I was asked if I had seen Trump’s previous reality show, The Apprentice. – and whether any of these and other matters make it difficult for them to be fair.

Jurors’ names will be kept confidential and their entry and exit to court will be escorted to avoid harassment and invasion of privacy, said U.S. District Judge Louis A. Kaplan.

The 26- to 66-year-old group includes janitor, physiotherapist, and those working in security, medical collections, libraries, high schools, and other settings. One said he watches “everything” and follows the news. Another said they didn’t comply at all.

The trial will be held in the Federal Civil Court. So whatever the outcome, Trump is in no danger of going to jail. He doesn’t even have to appear in court, and his lawyers suggest he likely won’t testify.

The trial comes a month after he pleaded not guilty in an unrelated criminal case involving payments made to fill accounts for alleged extramarital sex.

Carroll plans to testify about what she calls a chance meeting with Trump in late 1995 or early 1996, which turned violent. The trial also includes defamation claims against Trump for derogatory remarks Carroll made about her in response to the rape allegations.

After she ran into the future president at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, he teased each other and tried on clothes after inviting her to buy a gift of women’s lingerie together. They were alone in the store’s locker room, where Trump pushed them against a wall and raped them before fighting them off and fleeing.

Since Carroll first made the accusations in her 2019 memoir, Trump has vehemently denied there was a rape, or even knowing Carroll.

Trump called Carroll “psychotic” for “dumb work”. He claimed she fabricated her allegations of rape to boost sales of her own book.

“She’s not my type,” he said repeatedly, before misidentifying her as his ex-wife, Marla Maples, in a photo during a swearing-in in October.

Carroll didn’t stop talking to reporters when she arrived at court Tuesday morning.

Jurors are also expected to hear from two other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Trump.

Jessica Leeds is set to testify that Trump tried to get his hands in her skirt on a 1979 flight. Natasha Stoinoff, a former People magazine staff writer, said when she visited Trump and then-pregnant wife Melania Trump’s Florida mansion in 2005, she pinned her to a wall and forced her to leave. I testify that I kissed

Jurors will also see the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” video. In this video, Trump can be heard making misogynistic remarks about women. This includes claims that celebrities, even sexually, can grab women without asking.

Carroll’s claims are usually too old to be brought to court. But in November, New York enacted a law allowing lawsuits against decades-old sexual abuse allegations.

Kaplan, who is set to preside over the trial, has rejected Trump’s lawyers’ requests to tell jurors that the former president wants to spare him the chaos his presence may cause.

Mr Trump may decide to attend and testify at the trial. If he fails to do so, the jury may be shown excerpts from his deposition recorded on video.

On Monday, Kaplan instructed attorneys for both sides not to say anything in front of potential jurors on Tuesday about who is paying their attorneys’ fees.

Earlier this month, after it was revealed that Carroll’s attorney was funded by the American Future Republic, an organization funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, the judge ruled Trump. ‘s attorney was allowed to question Carroll for an additional hour.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward, as Carroll, Reese and Stoynoff did.