Trump trial news - latest: E Jean Carroll snaps back at Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina in tense cross-examination

E Jean Carroll returned to the stand on Thursday morning as her civil rape trial against Donald Trump continues at a Manhattan courthouse.

Speaking about her statement in an interview that “most people think of rape as being sexy,” Ms Carroll said that “rape is used in our culture in entertainment”.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina started his cross-examination later on Thursday.

Ms Carroll fought back tears on Wednesday as she described the alleged assault in horrifying detail.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me,” she testified, before going into vivid detail about the day she claims Mr Trump attacked her in a dressing room in the Bergdorf Goodman department store.

Mr Trump has been warned by the judge to stop speaking about the case after took to Truth Social to brand the trial a “witch hunt” while spewing victim-shaming assumptions about rape.

Meanwhile, in another legal blow for the former president, he has failed to block Mike Pence from testifying in a criminal investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

A judge denied his appeal to stop his former vice president from giving evidence to special counsel Jack Smith.

Key Points

• Trump says E Jean Carroll rape case is a ‘scam’ because ‘she didn’t scream’

• ‘The force of hatred coming at me was staggering'

• 'Elle magazine would never have published this excerpt’

• ‘I thought he was evil'

• Carroll says she was strangled three times during marriage to John Johnson

Trump rape case explained: How a chance department store meeting led to a court case decades later

06:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Decades after she was allegedly raped by a New York real estate mogul who would go on to be the 45th President of the United States, E Jean Carroll is getting her day in court.

Ms Carroll, a writer and former advice columnist for Elle magazine, is the plaintiff in a pair of civil lawsuits against former president Donald Trump.

One of those lawsuits is now being presented in a New York City federal courtroom under the supervision of US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. The proceedings began on 25 April.

The jurors in the trial will remain anonymous on Judge Kaplan’s orders due to the risk of threats, intimidation or outright violence against anyone seen as an enemy by Mr Trump and his supporters as they hear evidence of allegations made by Ms Carroll against the twice-impeached and indicted ex-president.

Ms Carroll has claimed that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.

Read more:

Trump on trial: What to know about the E Jean Carroll rape case

What exactly has Trump said about E Jean Carroll as her civil rape trial begins?

05:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s lawyers entered court for yet another legal showdown in New York this week as the former president faces an accusation of rape from author E Jean Carroll.

It’s part of a long-brewing fight that has vexed the president for nearly a half decade, almost as long as the Stormy Daniels controversy which earlier this month resulted in Mr Trump being hit with 34 criminal counts by Manhattan prosecutors.

Ms Carroll alleges that the former president, then a business mogul known around New York, raped her in the fitting room of a department store in 1995 or 1996. According to news reports, she plans to corroborate her story with the testimony of individuals who will say that Ms Carroll told them shortly after the alleged attack, as well as testimony from other women who will reportedly testify about unwanted sexual advances from Mr Trump.

Read more:

What exactly has Trump said about E Jean Carroll as her civil rape trial begins?

Carroll stopped work on documentary because 'this case became more important’

04:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said she stopped filming a documentary because “this case became more important”.

“Donald Trump tweeted that the best example of injustice was my suing him,” she said, according to Inner City Press.

Her counsel brought up a Truth Social post by Mr Trump in which called her case a con job and the judicial system a disgrace in addition to comments about Ms Carroll not being his type.

“How did it impact your reputation?” her counsel asked.

“I thought I was back on my feet, had garnered some readers, then boom, he knocks me back down again,” she said.

“I was stunned,” she added.

Trump is fuming at a ‘liberal megadonor’ in the E Jean Carroll rape trial. Will his gripes affect the case?

04:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump tore into his rape accuser, E Jean Carroll, on Truth Social in a post that accused her of being bankrolled by a liberal megadonor.

It was a scorching attack that nonetheless had his own attorneys in the most trouble later in the day.

The president wrote in a pair of posts on Wednesday morning that the author and advice columnist was running a “made up scam” and had been “caught lying” about the funding for her legal effort, which is likely in the thousands of dollars (if not much higher) even as the trial is just beginning.

“They got caught lying! The Miss Bergdorf Goodman case is financed by a big political donor that they tried to hide,” he wrote in one post.

In another, he added: “The E. Jean Carroll case, Ms. Bergdorf Goodman, is a made up SCAM. Her lawyer is a political operative, financed by a big political donor that they said didn’t exist, only to get caught lying about that.”

Read more:

Why is Trump fuming at a ‘liberal megadonor’ in the E Jean Carroll rape trial?

Carroll says she was mourning her mother’s passing during 2016 election

03:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina brought up that Ms Carroll said she didn’t share her story publically before the 2016 election because her mom was dying.

“She was on her deathbed and my sisters and brothers joined her,” she said.

Mr Tacopina noted that Ms Carroll’s mom passed away in October 2016, according to Law & Crime.

The attorney asked why she didn’t publicise her story shortly afterwards.

“I was in deep, incredibly painful mourning,” Ms Carroll replied. Her mom died at the age of 97.

Mr Tacopina suggested that she didn’t go ahead with the story because she wasn’t ready to publish her book.

“I hadn’t conceived of writing a book at that point,” Ms Carroll said.

Writer E Jean Carroll tells court her ‘rape’ by Trump left her incapable of finding love: ‘He’s vile’

03:00 , Bevan Hurley

Since 1996, when she alleges she was raped by Donald Trump, E Jean Carroll has been living a kind of dual existence, she said during harrowing testimony in a civil trial at the US Federal Courthouse in Manhattan on Wednesday.

There was the public persona; the successful writer, television host and Ask E Jean advice columnist who was always upbeat, optimistic and trying to help others.

“And then I have a private self, and that’s the one that can’t admit out loud that there has been any suffering,” she testified.

Ms Carroll described in graphic detail the alleged rape by the former president in a dressing room on the 6th floor of the luxury Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman.

The alleged incident caused her to suffer waves of crippling anxiety attacks, left her incapable of forming romantic relationships, and fearful of the flirtatious behaviour she and Mr Trump engaged in prior to the alleged assault, she said.

Read more:

Writer tells court her ‘rape’ by Trump left her incapable of finding love

‘You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you'

02:30 , Gustaf Kilander

As he began cross-examining Ms Carroll on 27 April, Mr Tacopina brought up a draft of her book What Do We Need Men For? in which she writes about the episode involving the former president.

“You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you, to poison your water,” he said.

“That’s a draft. That was not published,” Ms Carroll responded.

Trump complains about length of John McCain’s funeral in shocking new attack

02:00 , Shweta Sharma

Donald Trump’s latest attack on John McCain is a review of the late Republican stalwart’s funeral in his new coffee table book.

Mr Trump’s forthcoming book Letters to Trump features embittered comments about the war veteran and the length of his funeral, where the former president was not welcome.

“I never warmed to him,” wrote the one-time president, “never felt good about anybody having anything to do with John McCain and never will, even despite the fact that at their request, I gave him the world’s longest funeral, 11 days. Much like his wars, it never ended.”

McCain’s funeral took place over five days across three different cities. There is no evidence to show it was “the world’s longest”.

The former naval officer who unsuccessfully ran for president died in 2018 at the age of 81 after a battle with brain cancer.

Read more:

Trump complains about length of John McCain’s funeral in shocking new attack

E Jean Carroll pushes back against sexist questions during rape trial

01:45 , Josh Marcus

E Jean Carroll raised her voice in exasperation in a New York courtroom on Thursday as she was repeatedly asked why she didn’t scream while allegedly being raped by Donald Trump – before the judge admonished the ex-president’s lawyer for his line of questioning.

During hours of tense cross-examination, Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina peppered the 79-year-old former Elle advice columnist with questions about an alleged sexual assault in the dressing room of Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in 1996.

Ms Carroll told how she was filled with adrenaline as she pushed and kicked back against the much larger man during the alleged three-minute encounter.

“I was in too much of a panic to scream, I was fighting,” she said.

Bevan Hurley reports.

E Jean Carroll fires back on why she didn’t scream during alleged Donald Trump rape

‘It’s hard to wake up to that, people telling you you’re too ugly to go on living'

01:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said she’s “also suing him for assault, under the Adult Survivors Act passed by the NYS legislature. I had one year to sue”.

“Did you advocate for that law?” her counsel asked.

“Yes. Because I understand why women, and some men, do not come forward for years,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

After a post by Mr Trump on 12 October 2022, Ms Carroll said she was hit by “a wave of slime, people repeating what Donald Trump said, working for the Democrats, way too ugly. It’s hard to wake up to that, people telling you you’re too ugly to go on living, practically”.

Donald Trump is retiring one of his most famous nicknames

01:15 , Josh Marcus

When it comes to Donald Trump, nicknames have great significance. They signify who he considers his main rivals, and they speak to the aggressive, loose-cannon style of politics he helped usher in.

So, it’s big news then that the former president announced at a campaign event on Thursday that he is “retiring” the ‘Crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton and will instead be using it going forward for President Joe Biden.

“I will be retiring the name ‘Crooked’ from Hillary Clinton and her moniker, and I’m going to give her a new name, I don’t know, like maybe ‘Lovely Hillary’ or ‘Beautiful Hillary,’ but I’m going to retire the name ‘Crooked’ because he will be known from now on as ‘Crooked Joe Biden,’” Mr Trump said.

The watching crowd cheered and whistled. Mr Trump then speculated that Ms Clinton would be “celebrating” the announcement. He then launched a sizeable accusation at Mr Biden, the candidate who beat him handily in both the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020.

Abe Asher reports.

Trump says he is retiring ‘crooked’ nickname for Hillary Clinton, giving it to Biden

E Jean Carroll shuts down combative questioning by Trump lawyer: ‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

01:00 , Ariana Baio

On day three of E Jean Carroll’s civil suit against Donald Trump, the former columnist faced tough cross-examination from Mr Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, and defended herself for not screaming during the alleged rape.

Mr Tacopina pressed Ms Carroll about her previous testimony, in an attempt to discredit her recollection of Mr Trump allegedly assaulting her.

He specifically targeted a portion of Ms Carroll’s testimony where she said she did not scream while Mr Trump was raping her.

“I’m a fighter, not a screamer,” Ms Carroll said during her emotional testimony on 26 April.

But Mr Tacopina used Ms Carroll’s quote to further question her on why she did not scream or yell for help while being attacked.

Read more:

E Jean Carroll shuts down Trump lawyer: ‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

The federal grand jury’s latest Trump investigation witness? Mike Pence

00:45 , Josh Marcus

As the E Jean Carroll rape trial was underway, another set of serious testimony raised questions about Donald Trump’s conduct.Former vice president Mike Pence has given evidence before the federal grand jury investigating former president and his efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, The Independent has confirmed.

Mr Pence spent roughly seven hours testifying to the grand jury and answering questions from prosecutors led by Jack Smith, the US Department of Justice special counsel leading investigations into Mr Trump’s push to remain in office against the will of voters, and the twice-impeached ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Mr Pence’s appearance before the Washington DC grand jury comes less than 24 hours after a federal appeals court rejected a last-ditch appeal to block his testimony by Mr Trump’s legal team.

A federal judge previously denied Mr Trump’s attempt to use executive privilege, a legal doctrine which protects communications between and among a president and his advisers, to shield Mr Pence from testifying about conversations he had with the then-president in the days leading up to 6 January 2021, when Mr Pence was set to preside over the joint session of Congress at which their loss to Mr Biden and Kamala Harris would be made official and final.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump

‘Rape is used in our culture in entertainment’

00:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Speaking about her statement in an interview that “most people think of rape as being sexy,” Ms Carroll said that “rape is used in our culture in entertainment”.

“Like in Game of Thrones. There are 9 violent rapes, as plot development, to bring in a bigger audience. Even old movies like The Fountainhead portrayed rape on screen,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

She added during her testimony ahead of the cross-examination later on Thursday that she doesn’t think rape is sexy, but that it “is one of the most violent things that can happen to a woman or a man”.

Will Trump testify in the E Jean Carroll civil rape trial? He faces ‘huge’ legal risk either way, experts say

00:00 , Bevan Hurley

A jury in New York is currently hearing allegations that E Jean Carroll was raped by Donald Trump in the changing rooms of a Manhattan department store nearly three decades ago.

The former president has been accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women, but this is the first time a jury will be asked to determine the claims in court.

Legal experts told The Independent that Mr Trump’s likely non-appearance in the civil battery and defamation trial in the US District Courthouse in lower Manhattan was a major gamble.

“The risk for Trump if he doesn’t testify is huge,” Jennifer Keller, who represented Kevin Spacey when he was found not liable of sexual battery by a jury in 2022, told The Independent.

“The jury will hear only one side of the story — the plaintiff’s. And the jurors may well conclude he’s afraid of showing up because he knows the allegations are true.”

Read more:

Donald Trump’s ‘huge’ legal risk in E Jean Carroll civil rape trial

‘I’d prefer to get attention for making a great three-bean salad'

23:30 , Gustaf Kilander

When asked by her counsel who attended her parties, Ms Carroll mentioned journalists and podcasters .

“Celebrities?” her counsel asked, according to Inner City Press.

“Yes. I like attention, there is no question. But not necessarily for suing Donald Trump, or being raped,” Ms Carroll said. “I’d prefer to get attention for making a great three-bean salad.”

When asked if she regretted bringing the lawsuit, Ms Carroll said she does so “five times a day”.

“I look at social media and see the onslaught against me,” she said.

Carroll alleges assault by ousted CBS boss

23:00 , Gustaf Kilander

As Ms Carroll’s testimony resumed on Thursday morning following a delay caused by a discussion between Judge Kaplan and the lawyers, the former magazine advice columnist spoke about her being allegedly sexually assaulted by former CBS boss Les Moonves.

At least a dozen women accused Mr Moonves of sexual misconduct, leading to his ouster in September 2018.

Ms Carroll said she was assaulted by Mr Moonves and that he denied it, according to Inner City Press.

When asked if she has sued the former executive for defamation, she said, “No, He did not defame me, unlike Donald Trump who called me a scam and a Democratic operative. Moonves stayed quiet”.

Carroll says conversation with George Conway made decision to sue clearer

22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said during her testimony on Thursday that Mr Trump “said I was in a conspiracy with the Democratic Party. He said I was trying to sell a book, that I was too ugly to rape”.

“When did you think of suing him?” her counsel asked, according to Inner City Press.

“Journalists would ask me,” she said.

She said a conversation with Anti-Trump conservative lawyer George Conway made the decision clearer.

She met him at a party hosted by Molly Jong-Fast, a podcaster with a large Twitter following.

“Did you file the case to make money?” her counsel asked.

“No. It’s about getting my name back,” she said.

22:15 , Gustaf Kilander

21:53 , Gustaf Kilander

Tacopina and judge argue after jury and Carroll leave courtroom

21:37 , Gustaf Kilander

21:36 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina brought up a 2019 interview she did with Lawrence O’Donnell.

“Would you bring a rape charge?” the MSNBC host asked her at the time.

“No, it would be disrespectful to the women on the border, raped around the clock. Mine was three minutes. I’m an adult, I’ve move on, I’m happy,” she replied in the clip played in court.

“You stand by that?” the lawyer asked.

“I’d read a news story that day about women on the border. I felt bad,” she said.

21:11 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked why it hadn’t occurred to Ms Carroll that she had been raped before she was told so by Ms Birnbach.

“When something horrible happens to you, it’s hard to grasp what happened,” Ms Carroll replied, according to Law & Crime.

Ms Carroll said Carol Martin “emphatically,” told her that she shouldn’t tell anyone about the alleged rape.

She added that she was concerned about Mr Trump’s reaction.

“He’s famous, he’s rich, and as Carol put it, he has 200 lawyers,” she said.

Regarding the concern about pushback, she said, “That’s exactly what he did”.

“He has two tables full of lawyers here today,” she added.

20:54 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll why she chose to call Lisa Birnbach after the alleged rape.

“She was the person I needed, to see what she would tell me, she told me to stop laughing. I think I was slightly disoriented. I thought it was tragic,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

“You said hilarious,” the lawyer retorted. “What story were you going to tell Lisa that you thought was hilarious?”

“Let me rephrase that - I was hoping it was hilarious. Lisa told me exactly what I needed to hear,” Ms Carroll said.

“She told you you had been raped,” Mr Tacopina replied.

“I don’t like the word,” Ms Carroll said.

“Had it occurred to you that you had been raped?” he pressed.

“I just needed to tell someone the story,” Ms Carroll replied.

20:45 , Gustaf Kilander

The attorney asked Ms Carroll if she “wish you’d screamed?”

“Of course. Then more people would believe me,” she said.

“If I was going to lie, I would have said I screamed,” she added, according to Inner City Press.

“I didn’t scream because I didn’t want to make a scene,” she said.

“You didn’t want anyone to hear and help? You say his penis was inside you, but your tights were above your knees?” Mr Tacopina said.

“Yes. I couldn’t get my knee up. I tried to stomp his foot,” Ms Carroll said.

“You pushed him off despite your ... tights [being] above your knees?” the attorney continued.

“Tights are amazingly stretchy,” she said.

“You did all this on 4 inch heels?” Mr Tacopina asked.

“I can dance on 4 inch heels. You dance, you understand,” she said, before Mr Tacopina said, “I won’t respond to that”.

“You got your knee up while being sexually penetrated then walked out wearing those tights?” Mr Tacopina asked.

“They did not come off,” Ms Carroll said.

“It’s your testimony you didn’t know if Mr Trump ejaculated?” Mr Tacopina pressed.

“I couldn’t see what was going on,” she said.

20:37 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll, “it’s your story at some point you felt his penis inside you” and that “he rummaged around your vagina,” which she confirmed.

“In your book you say he thrust inside, right?” he asked.

Ms Carroll said she had.

“And it took three minutes?” the attorney asked.

“No more than that. I didn’t have a stopwatch,” she said, according to Inner City Press.

‘He raped me, whether I screamed or not’

20:34 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina noted that Ms Carroll never screamed at Mr Trump or for aid.

“I’m not a screamer,” she said. “You can’t beat up on me for not screaming.”

“I’m telling you – he raped me, whether I screamed or not. I don’t need any excuse for not screaming,” Ms Carroll told Mr Tacopina, according to Law & Crime.

Carroll recounts using laughter ‘calm’ Trump’s ‘erotic’ intentions

20:27 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Caroll spoke about the moment when Mr Trump pushed her against a wall, banging her head.

“Then, he put his mouth against mine. Then, I understood. Ok,” she said, according to Law & Crime.

“You viewed what was going on as a fight?” Mr Tacopina asked, to which Ms Carroll said she did.

The Trump attorney noted that after the struggle started, Ms Carroll laughed. She explained that she was trying to end the interaction.

“Laughing is a very good, I’d like to use the word ‘weapon,’ to calm a man down if he has any erotic intention,” she said.

‘I expected the joshing to continue'

20:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll if she expected Mr Trump to put on the bodysuit, to which she said she didn’t want to expect him to undress.

“I expected the joshing to continue,” she said, according to Law & Crime.

“I pictured in my mind the most hilarious image of him putting it on over his pants. I didn’t have time to think anything further because” he closed the door, she said. “I didn’t have a plan. I just, I didn’t want the scene to stop. It was very funny.”

Carroll recalls 1987 SNL skit with William Shatner

19:59 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll if “Donald Trump told you to try on the lingerie?” which Ms Carroll said he had.

“He didn’t tell you to go into a changing room with him?” the attorney asked, according to Inner City Press.

“I told him to try it on, it was his colour,” Ms Carroll said, recalling her joke.

“He weighed about 225 pounds (102kg) in 1996?” Mr Tacopina added.

“Donald Trump being a large, tall very manly man, makes it twice as funny,” Ms Carroll said, according to Law & Crime.

“That was your plan, to get this large man to put on a not-so-large see-through body suit over his suit pants,” the lawyer pressed.

“I was just turning everything around,” Ms Carroll said. “I had written a similar scene for Saturday Night Live and I won an Emmy for it.”

“Your scene was about lingerie?” Mr Tacopina asked.

“No, his own underwear,” Ms Carroll said, adding that it was broadcast in 1987 with William Shatner playing the role. “That’s how comedy is born. You take two opposite things, put them together, and it makes a new scene.”

“It was very funny. He was falling in love with himself in the mirror,” she added.

Trump lawyer presses Carroll on possible witnesses

19:42 , Gustaf Kilander

Asking about the alleged rape at the Berghof Goodman department store, Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina asked Ms Carroll if she had called Donald Trump one of New York’s more famous men”.

Ms Carroll said she had.

“But no sales attendant tried to help him?” Mr Tacopina asked, according to Inner City Press.

“They did not,” Ms Carroll responded.

“You have a memory of him saying the word lingerie?” the attorney asked.

“As I wrote, I thought he might have said ‘underwear.’ It meant the same thing. The story was shaping up to be hilarious,” Ms Carroll said.

Regarding going upstairs in the department store, Mr Tacopina asked if it seemed “like you were on the escalators for a long time?”

“Yes. But the time went quickly,” she said.

“OK. But you saw no one else?” the lawyer asked.

“I was not looking for anyone, I was in an engaging conversation with Donald Trump,” Ms Carroll said.

“It’s your story that while on the sixth floor you didn’t see a single person?” the lawyer pressed.

“I did not. We went past cruise wear, could have been bathing suits. I saw no one else,” she said.

Carroll was in ‘juicy’ conversation with Trump in photo from 1980s

19:24 , Gustaf Kilander

‘It was Harvey Weinstein’s story that caused you to come forward, yes?'

19:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll, “It was Harvey Weinstein’s story that caused you to come forward, yes?”

“I realized we had a chance to limit the harm,” she replied, according to Inner City Press.

“Those women went to the police, right?” Mr Tacopina asked, to which Ms Carroll said she didn’t know if they did.

Ms Carroll said she gave a “combination of chapters” to New York magazine.

‘Naming Donald Trump was a major element of selling your book, right’

18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll, “This was a book you desperately wanted to sell, right?”

“Yes, I wanted to sell the book I was writing,” she said.

“And naming Donald Trump was a major element of selling your book, right?” he said, according to Inner City Press.

“I thought it would attract people. I was wrong,” Ms Carroll replied.

Judge notes literary reference in book title

18:04 , Gustaf Kilander

Judge Lewis Kaplan noted the literary reference in the title of Ms Carroll’s book during cross-examination on Thursday.

“Before publishing your rape story, you never made it public, right?” Mr Tacopina asked her, according to Inner City Press.

“I was never going to,” she responded.

“Your book says dispose of all men, right?” Mr Tacopina asked.

The full title of her book is What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.

“It was satire, you understand?” Ms Carroll said.

“It comes from Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal,” Judge Kaplan noted.

Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime tweeted: “Anyone who has ever appeared in Kaplan’s court will not be surprised he piped up about a literary reference.”

In the satirical 1729 essay A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick, commonly called A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggested anonymously with plenty of hyperbole that poor Irish people could sell their children as food for the rich to ease their economic woes.

Who is Jessica Leeds? The Trump accuser who may testify about alleged plane assault at E Jean Carroll trial

18:00 , Joe Sommerlad

E Jean Carroll, the former Elle magazine columnist, has been giving evidence at the Moynihan federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York, this week at a civil trial in which she accuses the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, of rape.

Ms Carroll alleges that Mr Trump sexually assaulted her in the changing rooms of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s, an accusation he has denied.

The veteran writer is one of at least 26 women who have made historic sexual assault allegations against Mr Trump.

Another accuser who is likely to offer her testimony in court is Jessica Leeds, a businesswoman who has said the former president attacked her on a flight from Dallas, Texas, to New York in 1979, when she was 38.

Ms Leeds – originally from Springfield, Missouri, the daughter of an Oscar Mayer cattle buyer and the executive secretary to the city manager – was based in Connecticut at the time and worked as a travelling salesperson for a company that supplied paper to other businesses.

Read more:

Who is Jessica Leeds? Trump accuser may testify about plane assault at Carroll trial

Tacopina presses Carroll on use of word ‘scheme'

17:41 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina showed Ms Carroll email correspondence between her and former TV anchor Carol Martin in 2017.

“As soon as we’re both well [enough] to scheme, we must both do our patriotic duty,” Ms Carroll wrote.

“TOTALLY!!! I have something special for you when we meet,” Ms Carroll replied.

Mr Tacopina pushed her on the use of the word “scheme,” to which Ms Carroll said it was just the kind of language they used when speaking to each other.

Trump appears to forget to mark Melania’s birthday

17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Former President Donald Trump made no public acknowledgement of his wife’s birthday as the former first lady had a smaller celebration with friends at Mar-a-Lago for her 53rd birthday.

People magazine reported that people with knowledge of the situation said Mr Trump would attend the party if he happened to be at home at the time, but they didn’t say whether the former president was actually there.

Mr Trump posted 15 times on Truth Social on the day of his wife’s birthday, 26 April, including attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and posts about the civil rape trial in New York prompted by the claim made by writer E Jean Carroll that Mr Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

He said that the case “is a made up SCAM” and that “her lawyer is a political operative,” which prompted criticism from Judge Lewis Kaplan, who implored the Trump legal team to get their client to stop posting about the case.

On his wife’s last birthday during their time in the White House in 2020, Mr Trump took to Twitter to praise “our great First Lady!”

Read more:

Trump appears to forget to mark Melania’s birthday

Carroll says she was mourning her mother’s passing during 2016 election

17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina brought up that Ms Carroll said she didn’t share her story publically before the 2016 election because her mom was dying.

“She was on her deathbed and my sisters and brothers joined her,” she said.

Mr Tacopina noted that Ms Carroll’s mom passed away in October 2016, according to Law & Crime.

The attorney asked why she didn’t publicise her story shortly afterwards.

“I was in deep, incredibly painful mourning,” Ms Carroll replied. Her mom died at the age of 97.

Mr Tacopina suggested that she didn’t go ahead with the story because she wasn’t ready to publish her book.

“I hadn’t conceived of writing a book at that point,” Ms Carroll said.

‘You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you'

17:21 , Gustaf Kilander

As he began cross-examining Ms Carroll on 27 April, Mr Tacopina brought up a draft of her book What Do We Need Men For? in which she writes about the episode involving the former president.

“You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you, to poison your water,” he said.

“That’s a draft. That was not published,” Ms Carroll responded.

Trump lawyers ask House GOP for ‘legislative solution’ to block classified documents probe

17:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Lawyers for former president Donald Trump have asked the Republican-led House of Representatives to intervene by enacting a new law to protect the twice-impeached former president from the Department of Justice probe into his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents and his alleged efforts to obstruct that investigation.

In a letter to Ohio Representative Mike Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, attorneys Timothy Parlatore, John Rowley and James Trusty claim the Department of Justice — the executive branch department charged with investigating and prosecuting federal crimes — is “not the appropriate agency to conduct investigations pertaining to the mishandling or spillage of classified material” and allege that the department’s handling of the probe into Mr Trump’s alleged misconduct “is antithetical to the principles of a fair and impartial search for the truth”.

They claim that it is “abundantly clear through this investigation that the institutional practice and procedures within the White House for the handling of classified materials drastically differ from the long-established standard operating procedures employed by various agencies of the intelligence community as well as the US military” and urge enactment of “a legislative solution by Congress” to “prevent the DOJ from continuing to conduct ham-handed criminal investigations of matters that are inherently not criminal”.

Read more:

Trump lawyers ask House GOP to rewrite law to block classified documents probe

Cross-examination begins as Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina questions Carroll

16:57 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Tacopina told Ms Carroll that her story is odd.

“Certain parts of the story are difficult to conceive of, yes,” she said.

Mr Tacopina asked about Mr Trump “supposedly” raping her.

“Not ‘supposedly,’ I was raped.”

“That’s your version,” the lawyer said.

“Those are the facts,” Ms Carroll retorted.

‘Rare Trump evidentiary victory’ as Conway conversation included

16:39 , Gustaf Kilander

Will Trump testify in the E Jean Carroll civil rape trial? He faces ‘huge’ legal risk either way, experts say

16:30 , Bevan Hurley

A jury in New York on Tuesday will begin hearing allegations that E Jean Carroll was raped by Donald Trump in the changing rooms of a Manhattan department store nearly three decades ago.

The former president has been accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women, but this is the first time a jury will be asked to determine the claims in court.

Legal experts told The Independent that Mr Trump’s likely non-appearance in the civil battery and defamation trial in the US District Courthouse in lower Manhattan was a major gamble.

“The risk for Trump if he doesn’t testify is huge,” Jennifer Keller, who represented Kevin Spacey when he was found not liable of sexual battery by a jury in 2022, told The Independent.

“The jury will hear only one side of the story — the plaintiff’s. And the jurors may well conclude he’s afraid of showing up because he knows the allegations are true.”

Read more:

Donald Trump’s ‘huge’ legal risk in E Jean Carroll civil rape trial

‘It’s hard to wake up to that, people telling you you’re too ugly to go on living'

16:27 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said she’s “also suing him for assault, under the Adult Survivors Act passed by the NYS legislature. I had one year to sue”.

“Did you advocate for that law?” her counsel asked.

“Yes. Because I understand why women, and some men, do not come forward for years,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

After a post by Mr Trump on 12 October 2022, Ms Carroll said she was hit by “a wave of slime, people repeating what Donald Trump said, working for the Democrats, way too ugly. It’s hard to wake up to that, people telling you you’re too ugly to go on living, practically”.

Carroll stopped work on documentary because 'this case became more important’

16:24 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said she stopped filming a documentary because “this case became more important”.

“Donald Trump tweeted that the best example of injustice was my suing him,” she said, according to Inner City Press.

Her counsel brought up a Truth Social post by Mr Trump in which called her case a con job and the judicial system a disgrace in addition to comments about Ms Carroll not being his type.

“How did it impact your reputation?” her counsel asked.

“I thought I was back on my feet, had garnered some readers, then boom, he knocks me back down again,” she said.

“I was stunned,” she added.

‘I’d prefer to get attention for making a great three-bean salad'

16:14 , Gustaf Kilander

When asked by her counsel who attended her parties, Ms Carroll mentioned journalists and podcasters .

“Celebrities?” her counsel asked, according to Inner City Press.

“Yes. I like attention, there is no question. But not necessarily for suing Donald Trump, or being raped,” Ms Carroll said. “I’d prefer to get attention for making a great three-bean salad.”

When asked if she regretted bringing the lawsuit, Ms Carroll said she does so “five times a day”.

“I look at social media and see the onslaught against me,” she said.

Carroll says conversation with George Conway made decision to sue clearer

16:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Ms Carroll said during her testimony on Thursday that Mr Trump “said I was in a conspiracy with the Democratic Party. He said I was trying to sell a book, that I was too ugly to rape”.

“When did you think of suing him?” her counsel asked, according to Inner City Press.

“Journalists would ask me,” she said.

She said a conversation with Anti-Trump conservative lawyer George Conway made the decision clearer.

She met him at a party hosted by Molly Jong-Fast, a podcaster with a large Twitter following.

“Did you file the case to make money?” her counsel asked.

“No. It’s about getting my name back,” she said.

‘Rape is used in our culture in entertainment’

16:05 , Gustaf Kilander

Speaking about her statement in an interview that “most people think of rape as being sexy,” Ms Carroll said that “rape is used in our culture in entertainment”.

“Like in Game of Thrones. There are 9 violent rapes, as plot development, to bring in a bigger audience. Even old movies like The Fountainhead portrayed rape on screen,” Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

She added that she doesn’t think rape is sexy, but that it “is one of the most violent things that can happen to a woman or a man”.

Trump rape case explained: How a chance department store meeting led to a court case decades later

16:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Decades after she was allegedly raped by a New York real estate mogul who would go on to be the 45th President of the United States, E Jean Carroll is getting her day in court.

Ms Carroll, a writer and former advice columnist for Elle magazine, is the plaintiff in a pair of civil lawsuits against former president Donald Trump.

One of those lawsuits is now being presented in a New York City federal courtroom under the supervision of US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. The proceedings began on 25 April.

The jurors in the trial will remain anonymous on Judge Kaplan’s orders due to the risk of threats, intimidation or outright violence against anyone seen as an enemy by Mr Trump and his supporters as they hear evidence of allegations made by Ms Carroll against the twice-impeached and indicted ex-president.

Ms Carroll has claimed that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.

Read more:

Trump on trial: What to know about the E Jean Carroll rape case

Carroll alleges assault by ousted CBS boss

15:49 , Gustaf Kilander

As Ms Carroll’s testimony resumed on Thursday morning following a delay caused by a discussion between Judge Kaplan and the lawyers, the former magazine advice columnist spoke about her being allegedly sexually assaulted by former CBS boss Les Moonves.

At least a dozen women accused Mr Moonves of sexual misconduct, leading to his ouster in September 2018.

Ms Carroll said she was assaulted by Mr Moonves and that he denied it, according to Inner City Press.

When asked if she has sued the former executive for defamation, she said, “No, He did not defame me, unlike Donald Trump who called me a scam and a Democratic operative. Moonves stayed quiet”.

E Jean Carroll trial judge orders Trump to stop ‘entirely inappropriate’ Truth Social posts

15:30 , Gustaf Kilander and Bevan Hurley

The judge in the civil rape trial between Donald Trump and E Jean Carroll has demanded that the former president stop posting on Truth Social after he broke his silence on the court proceedings in a furious rant.

The former president took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning ahead of the first day of testimony in the bombshell case pitting him against Ms Carroll, who accused Mr Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the 1990s.

In a pair of posts, he branded the case a “witch hunt” as he made a misleading suggestion about key evidence in the case: the dress Ms Carroll was wearing on the day of the alleged rape.

“The E. Jean Carroll case, Ms. Bergdorf Goodman, is a made up SCAM,” Mr Trump wrote. “Her lawyer is a political operative, financed by a big political donor that they said didn’t exist, only to get caught lying about that.”

“Just look at her CNN interview before & after the commercial break - Like a different person. She said there was a dress, using the ol’ Monica Lewinsky ‘stuff’, then she didn’t want to produce it. The dress should be allowed to be part of the case. This is a fraudulent & false story--Witch Hunt!”

Read more:

E Jean Carroll trial judge orders Trump to stop ‘inappropriate’ Truth Social posts

PHOTOS: E Jean Carroll arrives at courthouse

15:24 , Gustaf Kilander

Official word on Trump’s participation in trial expected today

15:22 , Gustaf Kilander

Read Trump’s astonishing rant on E Jean Carroll’s rape claim: ‘She didn’t scream? SCAM’

15:00 , Gustaf Kilander and Bevan Hurley

Donald Trump furiously tried to pour doubts on E Jean Carroll’s rape claims against him as he spoke out for the first time since their civil defamation trial began.

The former president took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning ahead of the first day of testimony in the bombshell case pitting himself against Ms Carroll, who accused Mr Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the 1990s.

In a pair of posts, he branded the case a “witch hunt” as he unleashed a series of victim-shaming assumptions about her allegations.

“The E. Jean Carroll case, Ms. Bergdorf Goodman, is a made up SCAM,” Mr Trump wrote. “Her lawyer is a political operative, financed by a big political donor that they said didn’t exist, only to get caught lying about that.”

“Just look at her CNN interview before & after the commercial break - Like a different person. She said there was a dress, using the ol’ Monica Lewinsky ‘stuff’, then she didn’t want to produce it. The dress should be allowed to be part of the case. This is a fraudulent & false story--Witch Hunt!”

Read more:

Read Trump’s astonishing rant on E Jean Carroll’s rape claim