On Thursday, E. Jean Carroll officially rested her case. This means a jury in New York City will soon be asked to decide whether Donald Trump raped, and then later defamed, the former magazine columnist and media personality. The general public will draw its own conclusions about the civil lawsuit, a remarkable event not only because Trump is the former president of the United States, but also because he is a presidential candidate once again. But because jurors are instructed to reach their decision only on the evidence they see or hear in the trial, the decisions U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan makes about what evidence comes in — and what does not — are of enormous importance.
This week, the jury heard from four key witnesses likely to be top of mind for the jurors when they begin their deliberations.
This week, the jury heard from four key witnesses likely to be top of mind for the jurors when they begin their deliberations. Two women — Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin — testified that Carroll talked to them shortly after the attack in 1996 and that her account back then was consistent with her testimony at trial. This evidence is important corroboration of Carroll’s testimony — that is, it was introduced to show that the rape allegation was not a recent fabrication. (Trump has denied Carroll’s claims, calling them a “scam.”)
But Judge Kaplan’s more fraught decision was whether to allow Carroll’s legal team to introduce evidence from two other witnesses: Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff.
Dozens of women have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct of some kind, up to and including assault. Trump was never indicted on criminal charges for any of these alleged acts, and the statute of limitations has expired on most of them. (He also claims he has never forced himself on any woman.) The battery (i.e., rape) claims that were in Carroll’s lawsuit were made possible only by a temporary 2022 law that extended the statute of limitations…
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