The jury in E. Jean Carroll's civil lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump of rape and defamation is set to hear closing arguments on Monday. The three women and six men who have listened to seven days of testimony, including three by Carroll herself, will then retire to consider whether they believe the advice columnist's account of the alleged sexual assault in a New York department store dressing room in 1996.
Trump missed a Sunday afternoon deadline to notify the court if he wished to testify, but the jurors did hear from him when they were shown video extracts of Carroll's lawyer questioning him during a deposition. To win their case, the plaintiff must show that "a preponderance of the evidence" backs their claims – a lower threshold than in criminal cases.
Carroll gave a detailed account of an alleged attack at Bergdorf Goodman department store in spring 1996. She is also suing Trump for defamation after he dismissed her as a liar. During testimonies, she denied bringing this lawsuit against him due to her political views.
The trial took place over two weeks with additional testimonies from two other women intended to demonstrate a pattern. One witness was Lisa Birnbach, one of Carroll’s friends who claimed Ms.Carroll told her about it minutes after it happened and described her as “breathless, hyperventilating, emotional.” Birnbach advised against going to police because Mr.Trump’s lawyers would “bury her.”
Ms.Carroll alleges that the assault occurred at Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan between late 1995 or early 1996 and involved "colossal struggle" before she managed push off Mr.Trump.Two more friends Carol Martin and Lisa Birnbach testified supporting these allegations stating how Ms.Carroll informed them within days following incident.
Attorneys for both parties made final arguments asking jury find Trump liable for 1996 attack. These arguments are expected last most of day with jury deliberations beginning Tuesday.Trump's attorneys will likely continue argue that Carroll's claims are false and politically motivated.
The verdict may impact Trump's potential 2024 presidential campaign, but the extent remains uncertain.