Donald Trump’s rape accuser ‘just his type and he knows what he did’ | US News
The accuser of ex-President Donald Trump’s rape was “exactly” his type and chose not to appear at the trial because “he knows what he did,” her attorney claimed.
Columnist E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan, in the closing arguments of the civil rape trial, showed video jury testimony in which he mistook a picture of Carroll for his second wife, Marla Maples.
Trump had said in his October testimony that Carroll — who claims he raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s — was “not my type.” But Trump also said, “It’s Marla,” during his extrajudicial testimony, as Kaplan presented a 1980s photo of Carroll. Corrected, Trump then said the image was “very blurry.”
“It’s not fuzzy at all,” Kaplan told the jury Monday morning, adding that Carroll was “exactly his type.”
Trump saw a deadline Sunday night pass without asking to appear in federal court in Manhattan to testify. His lawyers did not present any witnesses.
Kaplan argued that Trump didn’t show up because “he knows what he did.”
Carroll’s attorney added that a 2015 Access Hollywood video of Trump saying women had allowed him to “grab them by the pussy” supported the sexual assault claims by Carroll and other women. Trump defended his infamous remark in his testimony, saying, “Historically, that’s right, with stars…if you look at the last million years.”
“For E Jean Carroll, this isn’t about the money,” Kaplan said of the rape and defamation case, “it’s about getting her name back.”
After a pause, Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, in his closing arguments, described the case as an “affront” to the justice system.
“What E. Jean Carroll has done here is an affront to justice,” Tacopina said. “She abused this system by making a false claim based on money, status and political reasons, among other things.”
Tacopina accused Carroll of fabricating her claims to boost sales of her 2019 memoir. Noting that the Bergdorf Goodman store was a public place, he questioned why no one saw the attack and Carroll’s pantyhose didn’t rip.
“It’s the most ridiculous, most disgusting story,” Tacopina said. “It’s just made up.”
Tacopina said Trump had no real reason to testify because the alleged rape did not happen. He accused Carroll of plotting with two of her testifying friends, Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin.
“When something is completely made up, the only way to defend yourself against that charge is to challenge the people who made it up and challenge history itself,” he said.
Carroll is seeking monetary damages and urging Trump to retract his statements about her. Kaplan did not ask the jury for a specific amount of money.
Kaplan’s closing arguments lasted 75 minutes while Tacopina continued for about two hours.
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