E. Jean Carrollcolumnist and former television show host, testified at a trial in 2023 that she was a victim of sexual abuse by Trump, in the dressing room of a luxury store located in front of Trump Tower, after a friendly meeting between the two in the spring of 1996.
This Tuesday, US President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to annul his conviction in a civil case for sexual abuse of the columnist and for later defaming her.
In a lengthy petition to the Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers argue that in the allegations that led to the verdict, including the payment of a compensation of 5 million dollars to i seea (around 4.3 million euros), the now President was harmed by “indefensible” decisionswhich allowed Carroll’s lawyers to present “highly inflammatory propensity evidence” during the trial.
Carroll, a columnist and former television show host, testified in a 2023 trial that she was a victim of sexual abuse by Trump, in the dressing room of a luxury store located opposite Trump Tower, after a friendly meeting between the two in the spring of 1996.
The jury also found Trump guilty of defaming Carroll when he made comments in October 2022 denying the allegations.
“Political Motivated Hoax”
Trump’s lawyers called Carroll’s allegations a “politically motivated farce”.
They accused the judge in the case, Lewis A. Kaplan, of distorting federal rules of evidence to bolster Carroll’s “implausible and unproven claims.”
They argued that, in upholding the verdict, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals conflicted with other federal appeals courts over how these rules should be applied.
“President Trump has clearly and consistently denied that this alleged incident occurred,” the lawyers wrote, cited by the AP.
“No physical or DNA evidence corroborates Carroll’s story. There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence and no police report or police investigation,” they maintain.
Trump skipped the trial after repeatedly denying that the attack had happened, but testified at a subsequent trial in early 2024, which resulted in him being ordered to pay compensation of 83.3 million dollars (about 72 million euros).
This second trial resulted from comments made by then-President Trump in 2019, after Carroll first made the accusations publicly in a memoir.
Late last year, an appeals court upheld the jury’s decision in the civil case in which Trump was convicted of sexually abusing Carroll.
The appeals court issued a written opinion upholding the damages the Manhattan jury awarded Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse.
