E. Jean Carroll Testifies Trump ‘Shattered My Reputation’ At Defamation Trial—As Ex-President Watches In Court

Topline

Writer E. Jean Carroll took the stand in her defamation trial against former President Donald Trump Wednesday—with the ex-president watching from the courtroom—testifying about how Trump’s attacks have harmed her reputation as she asks a jury to force Trump to pay more than $10 million.

E. Jean Carroll departs her defamation trial against former President Donald Trump at New York … [+] Federal Court on January 16 in New York City.

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Key Facts

Carroll testified on the second day of her trial against Trump, which accuses the former president of defaming Carroll by denying her 2019 rape allegation against him, attacking her and claiming Carroll is “not my type.”

Carroll testified that after previously being known for her writing, she’s now “known as a liar and a fraud and a whack job,” as quoted by Politico (Trump called Carroll a “wack job” last year), adding that “people are not dying to write to an advice columnist who the president says is a disgrace.”

Carroll testified she receives sometimes “hundreds” of nasty messages each day as a result of Trump’s attacks, and denied Trump’s claims that she was making up allegations to sell books or garner publicity, CNN reports.

To have the president, “one of the most powerful persons on Earth,” calling her a liar “ended the world that I had been living in,” Carroll testified, as quoted by Politico.

Trump was present in court Wednesday, and Carroll’s attorney complained to the judge the ex-president was “loudly saying things” about the writer’s testimony that the jury would likely be able to hear, CNN reports—resulting in the judge telling Trump to “take special care to keep his voice down.”

The jury will only have to determine how much Trump has to pay Carroll in damages—she’s asking for $10 million plus an unspecified amount in punitive damages—after a jury in a separate but similar lawsuit Carroll brought against Trump already found him liable for defamation and sexual abuse.

Crucial Quote

“I’m here because I was assaulted by Donald Trump and when I wrote about it, he said it never happened,” Carroll testified, as quoted by CNN. “He lied. And he shattered my reputation.”

Tangent

Wednesday’s court proceedings have also included testy exchanges between U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who’s overseeing the trial, and Trump’s attorney Alina Habba. Habba tried to have the trial adjourned because of Trump’s mother-in-law dying—after Kaplan already denied that request before the trial—to which the judge responded he’s denied the request and “will hear no further argument on it.” When Habba tried again to speak, Kaplan responded, “None. Do you understand that word? Sit down,” as quoted by Politico. At another point, Habba said she intended to question Carroll about a certain topic, to which Kaplan responded, “The last I heard, Ms. Habba, I do not need announcements from counsel about what they intend to do.”

What To Watch For

The trial, which began Tuesday, is expected to wrap up either later this week or early next week. Trump has so far been in court for both days of the trial, but it remains to be seen whether he will testify in the case, though he and his attorneys have suggested he could. Kaplan has previously ruled that Trump and his attorneys cannot claim in court that the ex-president doesn’t know Carroll, didn’t assault her, or say she’s a liar, given that he was already found liable in the earlier trial.

Chief Critic

Trump has strongly denied Carroll’s allegations against him and has continued to attack her even after being found liable for defamation—and as the trial got underway Tuesday. “Can you believe I have to defend myself against this woman’s fake story?!” Trump said on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon, adding he “had to spend time in a Federal Courthouse with a Trump Hating, Radical Left Judge, on a case that is another politically biased WITCH HUNT.” The continued attacks on Carroll could help the writer’s ask for the jury to award her a high amount in punitive damages, which are meant to deter Trump from continuing to defame her.

Key Background

Carroll first accused Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her decades earlier, writing in a piece published by New York Magazine that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. After Trump attacked her and her allegations, Carroll sued him for defamation in November 2019, alleging Trump’s reaction to her allegations caused her “emotional pain and suffering at the hands of the man who raped her, as well as injury to her reputation, honor and dignity.” She then brought a second lawsuit in 2022 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which allowed adult victims of sexual abuse a limited window to bring lawsuits on claims outside the statute of limitations. The lawsuit accused Trump of both sexual assault and defamation, based on separate but fundamentally similar comments Trump made about Carroll in 2022. That case ended up going to trial first in May 2023, and a jury found Trump liable for battery and defamation—but not rape—and ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. The first lawsuit is now going to trial after being tied up in court for years, as Trump unsuccessfully tried to have the case dismissed because he claimed his comments about Carroll were part of his official duties as president.