Nov. 24 (UPI) — Lawyers for the woman who accused Donald Trump of raping her have followed up on a promise to file a second lawsuit against the former president on Thanksgiving.
E. Jean Carroll, a journalist and advice columnist, previously sued Trump for defamation but revealed last week that she would file a new lawsuit to include a claim of battery centered under a recent New York State law, the Adult Survivors Act, which allows sexual assault victims to file a civil lawsuit even when the statute of limitations has passed.
“Dearest friends, tonight, a few minutes after midnight, we filed the rape suit against the former president,” Carroll wrote in a message to her readers on her Substack newsletter website.
“The new suit may ruin the former president’s Thanksgiving, but it will be nourishing to every woman who’s ever been grabbed, groped, harassed, pinched, prodded, assaulted, smeared or dragged through the mud by a powerful man.”
Trump was ultimately deposed as a witness in Carroll’s first case in October and oral arguments have been scheduled to begin in January ahead of a trial.
Carroll included a copy of the new lawsuit in her posting, in which she detailed her claims of battery by the former president as he allegedly raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City in the mid-1990s.
“Roughly 27 years ago, playful banter at the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in New York City took a dark turn when Defendant Donald J. Trump seized Plaintiff E. Jean Carroll, forced her up against a dressing room wall, pinned her in place with his shoulder, and raped her,” the lawsuit reads.
“In the aftermath, Carroll confided in two close friends. One urged her to report the crime to the police, but the other warned that Trump would ruin her life and livelihood if she reported it. Carroll chose silence — and remained silent for over two decades.”
In detailing the alleged rape, lawyers for Carroll wrote in the new lawsuit that she left work and went to the luxury department store one evening in the fall of 1995 or the spring of 1996 and was preparing to leave the store empty handed as Trump arrived through the door she was exiting from.
“Trump instantly recognized Carroll on sight. They had met at least once before and had long traveled in the same New York City media circles,” the lawsuit reads, which included a photo of the two pictured together at a previous party in the 1980s.
Trump then allegedly put his hand on Carroll to stop her from exiting the store, according to the lawsuit.
“Hey, you’re that advice lady!” Trump allegedly said to Carroll, who the lawsuit said was “struck by his boyishly good looks.”
Carroll allegedly responded, “Hey, you’re that real estate tycoon!” before Trump invited Carroll to advise him as he searched for a present for someone else.
“Carroll was surprised but thrilled that Trump would want her advice. She stuck around, imagining the funny stories that she might later recount,” the lawsuit reads.
Trump allegedly turned down several gift ideas, including hats and handbags, before suggesting that he would buy lingerie and insisting that Carroll model a lilac-gray bodysuit.
“Carroll responded that he should try it on himself, adding that it was his color. Trump and Carroll went back and forth, teasing each other about who should try on the bodysuit,” the lawsuit reads.
Suddenly, Trump allegedly grabbed her arm and “maneuvered” her to a dressing room where he entered with her and closed the door.
“Immediately, Trump lunged at Carroll, pushing her against the wall, bumping her head quite badly, and putting his mouth on her lips,” the lawsuit reads.
“Carroll shoved him back. Utterly shocked by Trump’s unexpected attack, Carroll burst out in awkward laughter. She could hardly process the insanity of the situation. She also hoped, at least at first, that laughter would bruise his ego and cause him to retreat. But Trump did not stop.”
Lawyers for Carroll alleged that Trump then pinned her against the wall and forced his hand under her coatdress to remove her tights, before forcefully raping her.
“Carroll resisted, struggling to break free. She tried to stomp his foot with her high heels. She tried to push him away with her one free hand (as she kept holding her purse with the other). Finally, she raised a knee up high enough to push him out and off her,” the lawsuit reads.
“Carroll ran out of the dressing room, out of Bergdorf’s, and onto Fifth Avenue. The whole attack lasted two to three minutes.”
Lawyers for Carroll wrote in the lawsuit that she had chosen to remain silent to protect herself from threats and lawsuit from Trump, then a powerful businessman in New York.
“Near the end of the 2016 presidential election, Carroll watched in horror as numerous women offered highly credible (and painfully familiar) accounts of Trump assaulting them,” the lawsuit reads.
“Trump responded with insults and denials; the public fractured; and Trump not only won the election but grew more popular with some supporters as a result of the controversy.”
Carroll decided to come forward in 2017 when the #MeToo movement began in response to the revelation that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted women in Hollywood.
“Its aftermath signaled a profound shift in how American society responds to accusations of sexual misconduct by powerful men. It suddenly seemed possible that even Trump could be held to account,” lawyers for Carroll wrote in the lawsuit.
“Carroll is a journalist. She watched as a throng of women came forward and accused Trump of sexual assault, only to be denigrated and then brushed aside. When she felt she should finally come forward herself, Carroll wanted to do it differently. She decided to describe Trump’s rape in a book she had already begun to write about her experiences with various men.”
She first made the allegations an excerpt from the book published as an article in New York Magazine in 2019.
Trump denied the allegations, accusing Carroll of lying with political and financial motivations. Months later, she filed a defamation lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court alleging that Trump’s comments had damaged her reputation and caused her substantial professional harm and emotional pain.
“Trump’s underlying sexual assault severely injured Carroll, causing significant pain and suffering, lasting psychological harms, loss of dignity, and invasion of her privacy. His recent defamatory statement has only added to the harm that Carroll had already suffered,” the new lawsuit reads.
“Carroll filed this lawsuit to obtain redress for her injuries and to demonstrate that even a man as powerful as Trump can be held accountable under the law.”
