“he raped me and ruined my reputation”

Carroll testified in the trial seeking damages for assault after Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her in a New York store dressing room in 1996, and for defamation after he accused her of lying and committed a farce when he made his accusations public in a book.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and ruined my reputation. I’m here to try to get my life back“, she declared before the jury, according to The Guardian.

Trump denies the allegations.

Before the writer testified, Judge Lewis Kaplan warned Trump that he may have crossed the line into jury tampering after the former president posted an attack on his social media site, Truth Social, calling Carroll’s allegations a “SCAM made up” and a “witch hunt”.

Kaplan called Trump’s post “completely inappropriate” and warned that they could become “a potential source of liability” for him.

Carroll’s legal team is expected to call several other witnesses, including two women who Carroll claims he told about the alleged rape shortly after it happened, Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin, who confirmed the account in interviews.

Carroll’s attorney, Shaun Crowley, told jurors they will also hear from two other women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Trump in a manner similar to the attack on Carroll.

Jessica Leeds accuses Trump of assaulting her on a plane in 1979, grabbing her breasts and trying to put his hand under her skirt. Natasha Stoynoff, a writer for People magazine, is expected to testify that in 2005 Trump led her into an empty room and forcibly kissed her until he was interrupted.