Donald Trump added another turning point for him infamous legal record. A jury of six men and three women from New York ruled in a New York civil lawsuit this Wednesday that the former president of the United States, who was the first resident of the Oval in March, and the favorite to secure the 2024 Republican nomination. The office filed a criminal complaint. He sexually harassed and defamed columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996from here He has to compensate her with about five million dollars.
To be civil litigation, and not guilty There is no guilty or innocent verdict.. The prosecution only needed to convince the jury of the preponderance of evidence, a lower standard than in criminal cases where guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And at the end of the two-week process, they succeeded in convincing them. After the jury has made its decision less than three hours of negotiationwith consensus.
Carroll’s is just one of dozens of sexual misconduct allegations that many women have publicly filed against Trump, but he was the first to appear in court. And now Promises to shake up election campaign for 2024 presidential election.
Case
They walked through the stands for two weeks due to the hearing presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan. 11 witnesses, they were all summoned by their lawyers blameamong themselves carrollwho now has 79 yearsThree more than Trump and two other women who accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, the real estate businessman and witnesses they tried to reinforce the idea that the next president had a stalking. offensive model with women
In her three-day statement, Carroll recalled how she met Trump at the store and they started talking and joking, asking him to help her choose an underwear gift for “a friend,” and how everything seemed mundane and innocent until “it took a dark turn.” He told me that Trump cornered him in the locker room, closed the door, pushed him against the wall, causing him to bang his head, put his mouth to his mouth, took off his socks and handed over his clothes. penetratedFirstly fingers and then with it penis.
carroll I didn’t go to the police but he told what happened to him in the days following the event. Two friends One of those who testified at the trial confirmed that he was advised not to report. She also talked about the impact the attack had on her life and explained that she has been unable to engage in sexual or romantic relationships since. “I am basically a happy person, but I am aware of that. I missed one of the amazing experiences human beings: falling in love with someone, cooking with that person, walking the dog together. I don’t have it,” he said from the podium one day.
carroll sued defamation lawsuit in 2019, after denouncing it publicly and in a book, and the current president saying it was “nonsense”. Although that case was blocked, he was able to open another case in the case that has now been decided. november in new yorkafter a law was passed that opened a window to past victims of sexual assault.
Defense
Defense lawyers, who did not call witnesses at the trial, limited themselves to questioning the prosecution, trying to refute the story of Carroll, whom they accused of “acting with motive”.money, status, political reasons”. Trump’s chief attorney, Joe Tacopina, aggressively questioned him for not coming forward, not remembering the exact date or details, not shouting during the attack. ‘ he went so far as to accuse.exploiting the pain and suffering of real victimss” and claiming that his complaint was inspired by the police and judicial series ‘Law and order’. “Incredible. Strange. mind-blowing. Incredible. Everything in this case is one of those,” Tacopina said as she delivered her closing statement. “The whole story is an incredible piece of fiction.”
Trump in his own words
Although the former president was present, he did not come to testify. expression video He did so last October in the case, some of which was shown to the jury and made public. For example, it is seen confusing Carroll with his first wife, Marla Maple, in a photos, although part of the argument for denying the attack on the columnist is that: I wasn’t his “type”.
In this statement, Trump also defended his words in the 2005 video that resurfaced in the 2016 presidential campaign. “, to contain “get them by the cat”and it was also used in this civil process. “Historically, this also applies to stars,” he said in the statement.
While Carroll “witnessed against himself” for Trump’s team thanks to these videos, Tacopina defended her client. “Trump’s vulgar person and his (Carroll) story doesn’t make sense. Both things could be true,” he said. You failed to convince the jury.
Impact on political career
Now the basic question is to know coup What will happen to Trump’s political aspirations, if any? Because what was recently written in ‘The New Yorker’ is true: “Sometimes it seems like, superpower Having Donald Trump accused of so many violations that no one alone can change public perception about her”.
Trump is not just favorite currently 29 points behind the second-highest-ranked governor of Florida to secure the Republican nomination, Ron DeSantis, based on the average number of surveys conducted by Real Clear Politics. Since being indicted on 34 counts in a criminal case filed by the Manhattan district attorney led by Democrat Alvin Bragg, their numbers have almost never stopped growing.
Stunning numbers in every way for anyone who is aware. possible costs in other criminal cases: seekers of probable situations Election interference in Georgia In the 2020 presidential elections, classified documents After leaving the White House and thwarting these investigations, and scrutinizing the role he played storm of the capital and lost to Joe Biden in his attempts to reverse the legitimate results of the election.
For Jennifer Horn, the former chairman of the New Hampshire Republicans but a staunch opponent of Trump, it is “strange” to see a candidate surrounded by such a dense legal fence. But heor really annoying, having a favorite one of the two parties. You can’t blame him for that,” the expert told The New York Times. You have to blame the party leaders and their home bases for that.”
Christina Wolbrecht, also a professor of politics at the University of Notre Dame, thinks we should be aware of the impact of Trump’s legal problems on the United States above all else. donors and consultants. But the political scientist specializing in politics and gender studies believes that “Americans already have a good idea of Trump’s character at this point,” and told the AP that “it’s true.” The Carroll trial is unlikely to change the views of many voters”.