(New York) In June 2019, former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accuses Donald Trump of rape and defamation, received an email about an episode of the television show Law
The author of this email reminded its recipient that the episode contained a scene where characters fantasized about a rape committed at the very place where E. Jean Carroll claims to have been sexually assaulted by the future President of the United States. United in 1996.
“You know there’s an episode of Law
“I’m aware of it, but I’ve never seen this episode,” replied the witness, who was on his third and final day on the stand in a civil trial that could end this week. “Law’s screenwriters
“You mean it was a stunning coincidence? asked Me Tacopina.
Judge Lewis Kaplan abruptly ended this exchange in which Donald Trump’s lawyer seemed to want to insinuate that E. Jean Carroll was inspired by an episode of Law
The thesis does not hold water if we believe the testimony of Ms. Carroll, according to which she confided in two friends immediately after the alleged rape, in 1996. Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin, the friends in question, should testify by the end of the trial.
And Donald Trump? He was in Scotland on Monday inspecting his local golf courses there. His lead attorney has yet to rule out the possibility of him testifying at his trial. A trial he unsuccessfully sought to have canceled on Monday morning, citing alleged errors by the judge in an 18-page letter.
“Could we please get things done,” he told Joe Tacopina, who was struggling to navigate the evidence he wanted to show the jurors.
One such piece of evidence was an excerpt from the CNN Anderson Cooper 360 show. as a “battle” and not a “rape”.
“I think most people see rape as a sexy act,” she said.
Joe Tacopina asked her if she still believed that.
“In our culture, we’re saturated with entertainment shows that continually show rape to get the public’s attention,” Ms. Carroll said, citing HBO’s Game of Thrones as an example.
“Are you comparing the rape scenes on TV to the rape scenes in real life? asked Donald Trump’s lawyer.
E. Jean Carroll replied in the negative. Later, however, she admitted to being one of the most loyal viewers of the reality show The Apprentice, hosted by the man she would accuse of raping her.
“Young ambitious entrepreneurs competing, that’s what I loved. Not the fact that he fires people,” she said.
Dressed in a black jacket and a white skirt, E. Jean Carroll answered questions from Donald Trump’s lawyer in a calm voice. Obviously, the latter was trying to put her at odds with herself or simply to destabilize her, as he had tried to do last week.
He went back on the fact that Mrs. Carroll had not called the police after the rape, even though, as a columnist, she had encouraged women to do so in such circumstances. He also brought up his ties to well-known anti-Trump figures, including conservative lawyer George Conway and the former president’s niece Mary Trump. And he recalled the statements where the author repeated that she was doing wonderfully.
“Mr. Tacopina, I was born in 1943. I’m part of the silent generation,” she said of her long silence on Donald Trump’s alleged rape.
Composed of six men and three women, the jury must decide whether Donald Trump defamed E. Jean Carroll by calling her a liar and an agent of the Democratic Party, among other things, after the publication of her book. He must also determine if the ex-president was guilty of an assault (battery) in the changing room of the Bergdorf Goodman. And, if necessary, he must calculate the amount of damages that must be paid to the complainant.
Two other women who accused Donald Trump of sexual assault are to testify during the trial.
After the cross-examination of E. Jean Carroll, one of her lawyers, Michael Ferrara, asked her about the episode of Law
“Are you basing your accusation on what happened on a popular TV series? he asked.
“No,” replied Mrs. Carroll.
