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Former President Donald Trump, already facing a historic 30-plus count criminal prosecution in New York, pending indictments in Georgia, and an ongoing investigation into the January 2021 uprising in the District of Columbia, appears headed toward the disgrace of losing a civil suit in a Manhattan rape case.
Brought by the writer, E. Jean Carroll, the case centers on Trump and Carroll’s encounter at a swanky New York department store in 1996.
Carroll said Trump coerced her into a dressing room and forcibly raped her.
The former president has denied the allegations.
His attorney, Joe Tacopina, attempted to discredit Carroll on the witness stand, asking why she did not scream or seek assistance when Trump attacked her.
Carroll hit back, refuting the thought that rape victims should behave in a particular way.
She argued that the line of thinking has routinely discouraged women from coming forward.
Carroll, also well-known for her former advice columns, said that while she did not report the incident to law enforcement, she immediately shared the encounter with two of her closest friends.
Tacopina argued that Carroll was stretching the bounds of credibility.
He claimed she only came forward in 2019 because she disdained Trump’s politics and wanted to sell copies of her book.
He labeled Carroll as not credible.
Experts, however, disagreed.
Many familiar with the law and advocates for sexual assault victims noted that most victims do not report the assault at the time it occurs, if ever.
Michigan attorney Jamie White, who is most known for his work with clients who experienced sexual assault, called Tacopina’s efforts “the most tone-deaf and shameless cross-examination I have ever seen.”
According to White, there is no way that Trump can win this rape case.
He believes that Trump’s chances of success are “out the window.”
White also said he anticipates that Carroll’s legal team will introduce the infamous Hollywood Access audio into evidence.
Further, former United States Attorney Harry Litman told reporters that Tacopina’s cross-examination of Carroll was a “total blunder.”
Carroll’s team expects to call the writer Natasha Stoynoff, who has accused Trump of forcibly kissing her in 2005, and the businesswoman Jessica Leeds, who has accused Trump of sexually assaulting her on a flight in the 1980s.
The jury should receive the case this week.