Global Courant 2023-05-09 08:17:29
STORY: Closing arguments were heard for Donald Trump’s civil rape trial, where former Elle advice columnist E. Jean Carroll accused the ex-US president of rape and libel.
A lawyer for Carroll argued Monday that Trump’s absence from the trial shows that “he did it.”
Attorney Mike Ferrara told jurors, “He never looked you in the eye and denied raping Ms. Carroll,” adding “You have to jump to the conclusion that’s because he did it.”
Carroll, 79, sued Trump, 76, claiming he raped her in 1995 or 1996 in a Manhattan department store and then defamed her by denying it happened in an October 2022 post on Trump’s Truth Social- platform.
In that post, he called her claims a “complete scam” and “a hoax and a lie.”
Trump waived his right to testify at trial and chose not to present a defense, gambling that jurors will discover that Carroll has not made a convincing case.
In his closing argument Monday, Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina said Carroll’s inability to recall the date of the alleged incident made it impossible for Trump to defend himself by citing an alibi, calling the matter an “insult to justice”.
“This is an absolutely outrageous case,” Tacopina said.
Two of Carroll’s old friends testified that she told them about the attack shortly after it happened and said they believed her.
Carroll, who was seen leaving court in New York, is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
Her attorney told jurors that the lawsuit is not about the money, but about Carroll getting her name back.
The jury of six men and three women is expected to begin deliberating on Tuesday.
