The jury in Donald Trump’s rape trial began deliberating late Tuesday morning to decide if the former president sexually assaulted the advice columnist E Jean Carroll and then defamed her by denying it.
For Carroll to win her civil claim for sexual battery, the jury of six men and three women must reach a unanimous verdict based on “a preponderance of the evidence”, meaning that she is more likely than not to be telling the truth, a lower standard than for a criminal trial. Their deliberations began just before noon.
The jury has the option to return one of several verdicts. It can find that Trump raped Carroll, who was in the front row of the court Tuesday. Alternatively, if it does not believe the evidence proves rape, it can find he is responsible for sexual abuse, meaning forcible sexual contact without consent.
If the jurors do not believe either of those findings are applicable, then they can return a verdict of forcible touching. Or they can clear Trump.
If they find Trump is responsible for sexual abuse in any form, the jurors will also have to assess damages.
The jury will also decide if Trump defamed Carroll in a social media post last October in which he called her claim and the lawsuit a “con job”, “completely made up” and “a hoax and a lie”.
The standard of proof for Carroll to prevail in that claim is higher with the jury having to find that there is “clear and convincing evidence” which the judge described as meaning “highly probable”.
Carroll is suing for unspecified damages, claiming that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in 1996.
The former Elle magazine advice columnist filed the lawsuit after New York passed legislation last year in the wake of the #MeToo movement giving adult victims of sexual assault a window of one year to sue their assailants in cases where the statute of limitations has expired.
Carroll is also seeking damages for defamation after Trump accused her of lying about the attack and “destroyed her reputation” when she went public with her allegations in 2019. The advice columnist said the then president’s claim she was lying led to her dismissal from Elle after 27 years.
In closing arguments on Monday, Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, told jurors they could believe the evidence of 10 witnesses for her client or the former president who declined to testify.
Kaplan’s said Trump’s defence amounted to claiming everyone else is “lying about everything”.
“In order to find for him you have to find that Donald Trump, the nonstop liar, is the only one in this court telling the truth,” she said.
Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, argued that, by her own admission, large parts of Carroll’s account were “unbelievable” and “remarkable”.
“The whole story is an unbelievable work of fiction,” he said.
Carroll, 79, spent three days on the witness stand describing the alleged rape in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the spring of 1996, and defending herself from accusations that she is lying as part of a political conspiracy against the former president.
Carroll told the trial that after shopping together, Trump manoeuvred her to a dressing room at which point his jovial manner suddenly turned dark.
“He immediately shut the door and shoved me up against the wall. He shoved me so hard my head banged. I was extremely confused,” she said.
Carroll said Trump pulled down her tights and raped her.
In closing arguments, Kaplan said that “every single aspect of what [Carroll] said is backed up or corroborated by other evidence”.
“This is not a ‘he said, she said’. It’s what Donald Trump says versus what all 11 of these witnesses said in that chair over there,” said Kaplan.
Witnesses in support of Carroll’s claim included two friends who testified that she told them about the alleged attack shortly after it occurred but kept silent at her request for more than 20 years. Two other women told the jury they had been sexually assaulted by Trump as Carroll’s lawyers sought to show he is responsible for a pattern of abuse over decades.
A clinical psychologist, Dr Leslie Lebowitz, told the trial that Carroll exhibits aspects of post-traumatic stress disorder, including physical pain and intrusive memories. After Tacopina put it to Lebowitz that she could have been duped by Carroll, the psychologist said she believed the advice columnist.
For his part, Tacopina questioned why Carroll never went to the police to report the alleged rape. He said that was because the case “would never make it through a police investigation in a million years”.
The jurors will have to decide what to make of Trump’s decision not to attend the trial or testify. Another of Carroll’s lawyers, Mike Ferrara, told the jury that the former president’s absence was evidence of guilt.
“He raped Ms Carroll, and he didn’t want to answer questions about it,” he said.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html.
