(New York) The civil trial against Donald Trump in New York, accused of defamation and rape by a former journalist, is coming to an end with, on Monday, the closing arguments of the plaintiff and defense lawyers.
Manhattan federal court split last week over video of a deposition by the former US president from last October, in which he defends himself against E. Jean Carroll, Roberta Kaplan.
This 48-minute video was made public on Friday and released by the press.
“No one, even a former president, is above the law”, hammered in opening his argument Mr. Kaplan, addressing a civil jury of six men and three women.
Ms Carroll, a former journalist and Elle magazine columnist, now 79, accused Donald Trump in a 2019 book of raping her in a dressing room of a luxury New York department store , in the mid-1990s.
She then sued him for defamation, then last November for rape in a civil suit thanks to a new law in New York State, allowing victims of sexual assault to relaunch their civil lawsuit despite criminal facts.
Ms. Kaplan recalled that her client testified in court “for more than two full days, answering every question”, including “why she didn’t scream” during the alleged events over 25 years ago. years.
Mr. Trump did not appear in court but excerpts from the video, recorded during the proceedings in October 2022, were released on Thursday.
“This is the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It’s a complete invention,” he said, calling E. Jean Carroll a “liar” and a “sick person.”
He repeated that he did not know his accuser, reaffirming that she was “not [his] type”. But, once the lawyer shows him a photo where he is in front of E. Jean Carroll at a party years before their alleged 1996 encounter, he confuses the complainant with his ex-wife Marla.
“The truth is, ‘E. Jean Carroll’ was exactly his type,” Me Kaplan retorted on Monday.
After the civil party’s argument, it will be the turn of the Trump camp, before the jury retires to deliberate on Tuesday.
The verdict, later this week, will not be criminal but civil, in order to determine the possible responsibility of Donald Trump and the level of damages.
