On Monday, closing arguments were scheduled in the civil trial on claims against Donald Trump of sexual assault brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
Carroll has said Trump assaulted her in the mid-1990s, and she brought her present claims after state authorities in New York reopened the opportunity for such court action after earlier limits under what are known as statutes of limitations. Trump didn’t testify at trial, although he’d previously sat for a deposition, and portions of his answers to Roberta Kaplan (Carroll’s lawyer) were later spotlighted for jurors. One portion of his sit-down with Kaplan that got some attention was his misidentification of Carroll in a photo with him as a prior wife of his, Marla Maples. The mistake seems particularly relevant considering Trump has characterized Carroll as ostensibly not his so-called type, and although other context clues obviously already strongly suggested Trump was essentially making stuff up, identifying Carroll as an ex-wife of his further exemplifies the ramshackle nature of his responses.
“Trump says he didn’t shop at Bergdorf. That was a lie,” Kaplan said during closing arguments, according to a version of her remarks shared by the New York publication Inner City Press. “He said he didn’t meet Ms. Carroll. That was a lie. He said she was not his type – but confused her with Marla Maples. He lied and said the professionally taken photo was blurry.”
Also referenced at trial — and in closing arguments — was the infamous recording from Access Hollywood in which Trump can be heard seemingly boasting of sexual assault. Questioned in his deposition, he said the freedom to commit such acts of which he spoke was simply a fact of life — “unfortunately or fortunately.” “Who would say” fortunately?, Kaplan asked, per another recap from Monday’s court proceedings.
Among those whose remarks also featured at trial were two other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct and two associates of Carroll’s. “Both Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin told you they believed her and believe her to this day,” Kaplan told jurors, referring to the latter duo. (The women who’ve shared stories of Trump assaulting them who testified were Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds.) “E. Jean Carroll has not had a relationship since. No walking the dog together. No one to watch TV with. The public E. Jean did not show this pain.”
Kaplan also blasted some of the attempts from Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina to essentially undercut Carroll’s moral standing. “Mr. Tacopina tried to imply there is something wrong with Ms. Carroll having tried to continue on to have a happy life, to open her Substack,” the lawyer remarked. “Why is Mr. Trump trying to blame Ms. Carroll for these things? He argues that a victim must act like a victim.” Almost all of these quotes are as recorded by Inner City Press.
If the jury rules in favor of Carroll, Trump could face financial penalties. He also continues facing the separate criminal case in Manhattan stemming from hush money for Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
