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New YorkJurors who watched Donald Trump’s video on Thursday heard the former president mock a woman who accuses him of rape as a “crazy act” and “mentally ill,” while an expert rated it trumpThe earlier public denials could have caused about $3 million in damage to the defendant’s reputation.
A copy of Trump’s testimony about E Jean Carroll appeared in court files before the trial, but the deposition played in court allowed jurors to hear him speak about the case in his own voice. Other parts of the recording were shown in court on Wednesday.
Carroll’s attorneys rested their case after playing the remaining testimonial extracts and calling three witnesses, including a friend who said Carroll told her about the alleged rape shortly after it happened.
Trump’s lawyers, who did not call witnesses, also tried to rest their case, but Judge Louis Kaplan said he would give them until Sunday to ensure Trump does not have any second thoughts after he decided not to testify in his defense.
Speaking to reporters Thursday while on a golf trip to Ireland, Trump suggested he would “likely attend” the trial, but attorney Joseph Takopina said there were no plans for him to do so. Barring Trump’s appearance, Kaplan said, the attorneys will make their closing arguments on Monday.
Trump, in Ireland, also repeated his claim that the case is a political “scam”. He ousted Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, as an “extremely hostile” and “tough judge” who “doesn’t like me much.”
Kaplan, who was angry at the start of the trial when Trump criticized the case on social media, did not address his latest comments.
The Thursday video also featured Trump standing by his past comments that Carroll wasn’t “my type” and defending his boast that he was a “locker room talk” on 2005’s “Access Hollywood” about female genital mutilation.
Later, Northwestern University sociologist Ashley Humphreys testified that a statement Trump made in October 2022 in which he repeated an earlier denial caused Carroll damage to reputation of between $368,000 and $2.76 million.
Humphreys testified that Trump’s statement, which was posted to his Truth Social platform just days before he sat to testify, was seen by an estimated 13.8 million to 18 million people. She cited social science modeling that she provided on behalf of Carroll’s attorney.
Trump’s previous denials have caused further reputational damage, Humphreys said, as when Trump claimed he had never met Carroll and when he said she was “absolutely lying” after her revelations in June 2019.
These estimates may be a factor if the jury finds that Trump defamed Carroll and must weigh the financial damages. She is seeking an unspecified amount of money and retraction of Trump’s statements which she claims are defamatory.
Carroll, a 79-year-old writer and former magazine advice columnist, alleges that Trump raped her in an upscale New York dressing room in the spring of 1996.
According to Carroll, they bumped into each other, got into light banter about trying on underwear and jokingly went into the fitting room, where he slammed the door and suddenly became violent.
She didn’t go public with the charges until 2019 and took legal action, but two of her friends testified that she described the attack to them shortly after Carroll said it had happened.
“I believed it then, and I believe it today,” one of those friends, former TV news anchor Carol Martin, said Thursday on the witness stand.
Trump, 76, says Carroll made up the entire encounter and that he never met her, except for a brief exchange of pleasantries at a social event in 1987.
“I think she’s sick and mentally ill,” Trump said calmly during the deposition. He added, “She said I did something to her that never happened. There was nothing. I don’t know about that nut job.”
The Associated Press doesn’t usually mention people who say they experienced sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll did.
A copy of Trump’s testimony about E Jean Carroll appeared in court files before the trial, but the deposition played in court allowed jurors to hear him speak about the case in his own voice. Other parts of the recording were shown in court on Wednesday.
Carroll’s attorneys rested their case after playing the remaining testimonial extracts and calling three witnesses, including a friend who said Carroll told her about the alleged rape shortly after it happened.
Trump’s lawyers, who did not call witnesses, also tried to rest their case, but Judge Louis Kaplan said he would give them until Sunday to ensure Trump does not have any second thoughts after he decided not to testify in his defense.
Speaking to reporters Thursday while on a golf trip to Ireland, Trump suggested he would “likely attend” the trial, but attorney Joseph Takopina said there were no plans for him to do so. Barring Trump’s appearance, Kaplan said, the attorneys will make their closing arguments on Monday.
Trump, in Ireland, also repeated his claim that the case is a political “scam”. He ousted Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, as an “extremely hostile” and “tough judge” who “doesn’t like me much.”
Kaplan, who was angry at the start of the trial when Trump criticized the case on social media, did not address his latest comments.
The Thursday video also featured Trump standing by his past comments that Carroll wasn’t “my type” and defending his boast that he was a “locker room talk” on 2005’s “Access Hollywood” about female genital mutilation.
Later, Northwestern University sociologist Ashley Humphreys testified that a statement Trump made in October 2022 in which he repeated an earlier denial caused Carroll damage to reputation of between $368,000 and $2.76 million.
Humphreys testified that Trump’s statement, which was posted to his Truth Social platform just days before he sat to testify, was seen by an estimated 13.8 million to 18 million people. She cited social science modeling that she provided on behalf of Carroll’s attorney.
Trump’s previous denials have caused further reputational damage, Humphreys said, as when Trump claimed he had never met Carroll and when he said she was “absolutely lying” after her revelations in June 2019.
These estimates may be a factor if the jury finds that Trump defamed Carroll and must weigh the financial damages. She is seeking an unspecified amount of money and retraction of Trump’s statements which she claims are defamatory.
Carroll, a 79-year-old writer and former magazine advice columnist, alleges that Trump raped her in an upscale New York dressing room in the spring of 1996.
According to Carroll, they bumped into each other, got into light banter about trying on underwear and jokingly went into the fitting room, where he slammed the door and suddenly became violent.
She didn’t go public with the charges until 2019 and took legal action, but two of her friends testified that she described the attack to them shortly after Carroll said it had happened.
“I believed it then, and I believe it today,” one of those friends, former TV news anchor Carol Martin, said Thursday on the witness stand.
Trump, 76, says Carroll made up the entire encounter and that he never met her, except for a brief exchange of pleasantries at a social event in 1987.
“I think she’s sick and mentally ill,” Trump said calmly during the deposition. He added, “She said I did something to her that never happened. There was nothing. I don’t know about that nut job.”
The Associated Press doesn’t usually mention people who say they experienced sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll did.
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