American author Jean Carroll (79) may file a lawsuit for alleged rape against former US President Donald Trump (76) before a court in New York. That was decided Friday by a federal court in Manhattan, American media reported unanimously. The 79-year-old accuses the Republican of raping her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Trump denies the allegation.
Until now, Carroll had not sued the ex-president himself for rape, but only for libel. Because the deadline for filing criminal charges for sexual assault in the 1990s had long passed.
Trump called Carroll a ‘crazy’
Carroll’s lawyers then filed the new lawsuit in November, immediately after the new law went into effect in New York State. In it, she claims compensation for physical injury and reputational damage, according to the indictment. The new law gives victims of sexual violence the opportunity to litigate in cases that took place further in the past.
Trump’s lawyers had tried to prevent the new lawsuit from being admitted until Friday’s decision. However, Federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan called their argument that the new law was unconstitutional “absurd.”
The court also released previously sealed excerpts of a transcript of Trump’s testimony from the pending libel case. In it, the ex-president described Carroll as “crazy” and accused her lawyer of political intent.
Trump plans to appeal
The defamation proceedings, which have been ongoing for some time, relate to statements made in 2019. Carroll had made the rape allegation public in an extract from a book at the time. Trump dismissed the allegations, saying, among other things, that Carroll was not his type. He also accused her of only trying to sell her book. Carroll then sued Trump for portraying her as a liar and defaming her.
In a statement Friday, Trump’s attorney said she and her client were “disappointed” with the decision and planned to appeal. (SDA)