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NEW YORK, May 4 (AP) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump called a writer’s claim that he raped her at a Manhattan department store “the most ridiculous, disgusting story,” he showed in court Wednesday. The affidavit testified that the allegations were “fabricated” and that the attack never happened.
Lawyers for plaintiff E. Jean Carroll played about 30 minutes of excerpts from the former president’s testimony, including his flat denials of the longtime consultant columnist’s allegations that he assaulted her in Bergdorf Goodman’s dressing room in the mid-1990s.
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“If it did happen, it would have been reported within minutes,” Trump said, claiming that shoppers and employees at “very busy stores” heard the commotion and notified authorities.
“This is the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It’s just made up,” Trump said in video testimony filmed in October.
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Several jurors leaned forward, staring blankly as the video played on various monitors in front of their seats.
In other developments on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers said they would not call any witnesses, and the judge said closing arguments would likely come on Monday before the jury begins deliberations on Tuesday.
Trump did not attend the trial and will not testify, giving his testimony even more weight. Asked about the case while traveling in Ireland on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: “I hear we’re doing very well in New York.”
Jurors in Manhattan federal court are expected to hear more of Trump’s testimony on Thursday, after which Carroll’s attorneys will call three more witnesses to testify.
Carroll is seeking unspecified monetary damages and for Trump to retract statements she claims are defamatory.
Trump has denied knowing Carroll, saying “she’s not my type,” and has argued her comments were politically motivated in an attempt to discredit him and deny him the White House.
His denial testimony led to an emotional day in court that saw more allegations of inappropriate behavior with women and the replay of the infamous “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump bragged about arresting women without permission. Hold female genitalia.
Former People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff tearfully testified that Trump forced a kiss against her will when he showed her around his Mar-a-Lago after Christmas in 2005 asked her to publish an article about the one-year anniversary of his marriage to his third wife, Melania.
Before the trial, Trump’s lawyers tried unsuccessfully to prevent jurors from seeing the “Access Hollywood” video and Stojnov’s hearing. The tapes and Trump’s subsequent denials at the 2016 debate.
“The scariest thing for me was that I was worried because I didn’t say anything at the time and other women were hurt by him so I had to regret it,” Stoinov said.
Asked about her trip to Palm Beach, Florida, to interview the Trumps, Stoinoff began to cry, reaching for a tissue and pausing her eyes between questions. Stojnov testified that Trump pulled her away from the staff and camera crew and tried to show her a “really wonderful room” at the estate before cornering her and kissing her.
Stoinoff, a Canadian whose writing career took on an archaic surname, recalled that the door closed behind her and Trump quickly “put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me against the wall.” Come on, start kissing me.” The encounter lasted several minutes, said Stoinoff, whose real name is Nancy Stevens.
“I tried to push him away,” Stoinoff said, explaining how Trump came up to her again and how she tried to push him away again. She said she was “very shocked and flustered” and was unable to speak or scream.
“I didn’t say anything,” Stoinov told jurors.
Trump showed no signs of stopping, but left abruptly when a housekeeper entered the room to report that Melania was ready for the next phase of the interview, Stojnov said.
Stoinoff said that as they walked to the patio area, Trump told her “you knew we were going to have an affair” and reminded her that his second wife, Marla Maples, had bragged to a tabloid that Sex with Trump is top of mind. Best she ever had.
Trump has denied that he tried to kiss Stojnov. Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, suggested she had nothing to do with Carroll’s case and ended the cross-examination by asking her one question: Was she involved in any of the lawsuits against Trump? she is not.
Stojnov’s testimony came a day after another woman, a former stockbroker Jessica Leeds, testified that Trump grabbed her breasts on a flight in the late 1970s, And tried to get his hands up her skirt.
Carroll kept her allegations against Trump a secret for 17 years, telling only two close friends before making them public in her 2019 memoir. In it, she describes a chance, sometimes flirtatious encounter with Trump in a department store in the spring of 1996, which ended violently when Trump cornered her after challenging each other to try on a piece of underwear in a dressing room.
Trump’s lawyers attacked Carroll’s credibility through exhaustive cross-examination, questioning why she did not call for help during the alleged attack and why she never called the police.
Rape victims often remain silent and blame themselves, a psychologist who testified on Carroll’s behalf said Wednesday. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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