NEW YORK: The writer suing Donald Trump for allegedly raping her nearly 30 years ago told jurors at a civil trial on Wednesday that the former US president sexually assaulted her and defamed her by lying about it.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he lied and said it didn’t happen,” E. Jean Carroll said in Manhattan federal court. “He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back.”

Carroll, 79, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, is seeking unspecified damages from Trump, 76, who leads the Republican field in the 2024 presidential campaign.

She is suing over an alleged encounter in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996, where she says Trump raped her until she was able to flee. Carroll is suing Trump for defamation after he denied her rape claim in an October post on his Truth Social media platform, saying he had not known her, that she was not his “type,” and that she made up the claim to sell her memoir.

She is also suing under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which lets adults sue their alleged abusers long after statutes of limitations have run out.

Carroll testified that she had met Trump years before the alleged rape, finding him “very personable” and a “man about town.” At Bergdorf, Carroll recalled that she was leaving the store when Trump recognised her and held up his hand, prompting her to stop.

“He said, ‘Hey, you are that advice lady,’” Carroll recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, you are that real estate tycoon.’” Carroll said she and Trump engaged in banter, describing his tone as “joshing,” with Trump seeking to buy lingerie for another woman.

She said Trump asked her to try on a piece of lingerie, prompting her to joke that he should try it on.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023