Writer E Jean Carroll and former US president Donald Trump. Photo: Kena Betancur and Andrew KELLY / various sources / AFP
With Donald Trump looking on, the writer E Jean Carroll told jurors on Wednesday that the former US president destroyed her reputation and should pay damages for denying in 2019 that he had raped her decades ago.
"I am here because Donald Trump assaulted me, and when I wrote about it, he said it never happened," Carroll said in federal court in Manhattan in her second civil lawsuit against Trump. "He lied, and it shattered my reputation."
Last May, a different jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll US$5 million (NZ$8.2m), finding he had sexually abused the former Elle magazine advice columnist in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room, and defamed her in 2022 by denying that anything happened.
In Wednesday's trial, Carroll is seeking another US$10m (NZ$16.4m) in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversees the case, has already ruled that Trump sexually abused Carroll in the dressing room by forcing his fingers into her vagina, and defamed her for two statements he made in 2019 as president.
Trump had claimed he didn't know Carroll, and that she branded him a rapist to boost sales of her then-new memoir.
Judge warns Trump not to talk too loud
During Carroll's testimony, Trump often spoke with his lawyers, prompting one of Carroll's attorneys to complain that jurors could hear him.
"He said: 'It is a witch hunt, it really is a con job,'" Carroll's lawyer Shawn Crowley said outside the jury's presence.
Kaplan warned Trump to control himself during the trial.
"Mr Trump has the right to be present here," Kaplan said. "That right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive... and if he disregards court orders.
"Mr Trump, I hope I don't have to consider excluding you from the trial," the judge continued. "I understand you are probably very eager for me to do that."
Trump has said he wants to testify in his defence.
The trial has become a focal point of Trump's 2024 White House run, with Trump using his Truth Social platform to unleash criticism of Carroll even after the trial had begun.
Trump, 77, has often used his legal woes, including the $5 million award, to rally supporters and raise funds as he seeks the Republican presidential nomination, calling the cases part of a political plot.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in four state and federal criminal cases, including two claiming he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
'Whack job'
During her testimony, Carroll said Trump's comments took away her reputation for telling the truth, and instantaneously exposed her to online attacks, including death threats.
She fought back tears when shown a message by her lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, suggesting that she stick a gun in her mouth and pull the trigger.
"I was attacked on Twitter, I was attacked on Facebook, I was attacked on news blogs, I was brutally attacked in messages," Carroll said. "It was a new world."
Carroll said she once got 200 letters a month from readers seeking advice, and now gets eight.
She also said the attacks haven't let up.
"Yesterday I opened up Twitter, and it said 'hey lady, you're a fraud,'" Carroll said. "Now I'm known as a liar, a fraud and a whack job."
Twitter is now known as X. Trump has also called Carroll a whack job.
Nonetheless, when asked by her lawyer if she regretted coming forward, Carroll said: "Only momentarily. I am very glad I took action."
No adjournment for funeral
Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, has argued that Carroll suffered harm only from "mean things" that people posted on social media, and has basked in adulation from supporters and attention from media outlets.
"Ms Carroll is now more famous than she has ever been in her life, and loved and respected by many, which was her goal," Habba said in her opening statement on Tuesday.
Before Carroll testified, Habba had a testy exchange with Judge Kaplan, who rejected her renewed request to adjourn the trial on Thursday so Trump could attend his mother-in-law's funeral in Florida.
"I will hear no further argument on it," the judge told Habba. "None. Do you understand that word? Please sit down."
The court does not sit on Friday, and Trump could testify next week.
- This story was first published by Reuters