Writer who accused Trump of raping her in 1990s is now suing him after legal deadlines were lifted

On Nov 24, 2022

Writer who accused Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s is now suing him claiming ‘forcibly raped and groped her’ after legal deadlines were lifted

E. Jean Carroll filed an upgraded lawsuit against President Donald Trump today
A new state law allows victims of sexual violence to sue over decades old attacks
She first made the claim in a 2019 book, saying Trump raped her in 1995 or 1996
Trump denied allegations, saying it didn’t happen because she was ‘not my type’

By Christian Oliver For Mailonline and Ap

Published: 05:33, 24 November 2022 | Updated: 12:31, 24 November 2022

A writer who accused former President Donald Trump of rape has filed an upgraded lawsuit against him, minutes after a new state law took effect today.

E. Jean Carroll´s lawyer filed the legal papers electronically as the Adult Survivor´s Act temporarily lifted the state’s usual deadlines for suing over sexual assault. She sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for pain and suffering, psychological harms, dignity loss and reputation damage.

The New York state law took effect on Thursday, allowing victims of sexual violence to sue over attacks that occurred decades ago.

Carroll, a longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine, first made the claim in a 2019 book, saying Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Manhattan luxury department store in 1995 or 1996.

E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused former President Donald Trump of rape has filed an upgraded lawsuit against him, minutes after a new state law took effect today. She is pictured in New York in 2019

Former President Donald Trump responded to the book’s allegations in 2019 by saying it could never have happened because Carroll was ‘not my type’

What are the six lawsuits Donald Trump currently faces?

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into Trump for retaining government records, including some marked as classified, after leaving office in January 2021.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a civil lawsuit filed last month that her office uncovered more than 200 examples of misleading asset valuations by Trump and the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization is on trial in New York on criminal tax fraud charges.
A defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll after Trump denied allegations that he raped her in the 1990s.
A House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021, assault by Trump supporters on the US Capitol is investigating whether he broke the law in actions to try and overturn his defeat
A special grand jury was selected in May to consider evidence in a Georgia prosecutor’s inquiry into Trump’s alleged efforts to influence that state’s 2020 election results.

Trump responded to the book’s allegations in 2019 by saying it could never have happened because Carroll was ‘not my type.’

His remarks led Carroll to file a defamation lawsuit against him, but that lawsuit has been tied up in appeals courts as judges decide whether he is protected from legal claims for comments made while he was president.

The former Republican president is currently facing six

Previously, Carroll had been barred by state law from suing over the alleged rape because too many years had passed since the incident.

New York’s new law, however, gives sex crime victims who missed deadlines associated with statute of limitations a second chance to file a lawsuit. A window for such suits will open for one year, after which the usual time limits will be reinstated.

At least hundreds of lawsuits are expected, including many filed by women who say they were assaulted by co-workers, prison guards, medical providers or others.

In her new claims, Carroll maintains that Trump committed battery ‘when he forcibly raped and groped her’ and that he defamed her when he denied raping her last month.

Trump said in his statement that Carroll ‘completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her. It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years.’

Carroll’s new ability to sue Trump for rape could help her sidestep a potentially fatal legal flaw in her original defamation case.

Previously, Carroll had been barred by state law from suing over the alleged rape because too many years had passed since the incident. She is pictured speaking onstage in New York at the 2019 Glamour Women Of The Year Summit in November 2019

In her new claims, E. Jean Carroll maintains that Trump committed battery ‘when he forcibly raped and groped her’ and that he defamed her when he denied raping her last month. Carroll is pictured in February 2022

If the courts ultimately hold that Trump’s original disparaging comments about Carroll’s rape allegation were part of his job duties, as president, she would be barred from suing him over those remarks, as federal employees are protected from defamation claims. No such protection would cover things he did prior to becoming president.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presides over the defamation lawsuit Carroll filed three years ago, may decide to include the new claims in a trial likely to occur in the spring.

Trump’s current lawyers said this week that they do not yet know whether they will represent him against the new allegations.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, said at a court hearing this week that the new claims should not require much additional gathering of evidence. She already put a copy of the new claims in the original case file last week. Trump and Carroll also have already been deposed.

Trump’s current lawyers said this week that they do not yet know whether they will represent him against the new allegations. He is pictured at a midterms rally in Nevada last month

Carroll says Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Manhattan luxury department store in 1995 or 1996

Former President Donald Trump recently announced a fresh bid for reelection to the White House in 2024

In a statement regarding the new lawsuit, Kaplan said her client ‘intends to hold Donald Trump accountable not only for defaming her, but also for sexually assaulting her, which he did years ago in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman.’

‘Thanksgiving Day was the very first day Ms. Carroll could file under New York law so our complaint was filed with the court shortly after midnight,’ she added.

Attorney Michael Madaio, a lawyer for Trump, said at the hearing that the new allegations are significantly different than the original defamation lawsuit and would require ‘an entirely new set’ of evidence gathering.

A lawyer for Trump did not respond to a message seeking comment on Wednesday. Another message seeking comment was sent to the lawyer after the lawsuit was filed less than 10 minutes into the new day.

E. Jean Carroll’s accusations in her 2019 book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal

Carroll claims she was on her way out of a store when Trump asked her for help with a gift and guided her towards the lingerie department.

She writes: ‘I am surprised at how good-looking he is. We’ve met once before, and perhaps it is the dusky light but he looks prettier than ever.’

‘Hey, you’re that advice lady!’ said Trump according to Carroll. ‘Come advise me. I gotta buy a present.’

She writes that she tried to point out a few ideas in the store’s main foyer. When they were all dismissed by Trump, she asked the age of the woman he was shopping for, prompting him to ask her the same question.

She was 52 at the time, two years older than Trump, and when she told him he allegedly started laughing and said: ‘You’re so old.’

He then said ‘lingerie’, according to Carroll, and the pair headed upstairs to that department.

Once there, Carroll claims she tried to diffuse repeated attempts to get her to model one of the wears by suggesting Trump try them on in a nearby dressing room.

It was when they went to one of those rooms that the alleged assault took place.

‘The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips. I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again,’ writes Carroll.

‘He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights.’

She continues: ‘I am astonished by what I’m about to write: I keep laughing. The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.’