Initially, Carroll sued Trump in 2019 only for defamation since the alleged violation had prescribed.
But on November 24, 2022, a law came into effect in the state of New York (“Adult Survivors Act”) that allows, for one year, victims of sexual assault to file lawsuits in civil justice.
As a result of that law, Carroll’s defense filed a new lawsuit against Trump for “groping, groping and raping her.”
It also includes smear for a post on her Truth Social network in October denying the rape allegations and calling Carroll a “complete scam.”
Other allegations against Trump
The lawsuit seeks damages for “significant pain and suffering, lasting psychological and pecuniary damages, loss of dignity and self-esteem, and invasion of privacy.” He also calls for Trump to retract his comments.
About a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. He has always denied the accusations and has never had to sit on the bench for it.
The Carroll case will not lead to criminal proceedings, but if Trump loses it will be the first time he has been held legally responsible for a sexual assault accusation.
The former president has testified under oath in the case and is not expected to take the witness stand during the trial, which could last one to two weeks, as Carroll’s lawyers have said they have no intention of calling him.
Trump is the first US president to have been criminally charged —at the beginning of April— for 34 crimes for the alleged payment of money in black to buy the silence of the porn actress Stormy Daniels in the final stretch of the 2016 electoral campaign for an alleged relationship a decade before that the tycoon has always denied.
The tycoon is also being investigated for trying to reverse his 2020 election loss in the southern state of Georgia, his alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House and his involvement in the assault on the United States Capitol on September 6. January 2021.
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters