Trump’s lawyers argue improper evidence in E Jean Carroll trial amid verdict overturn attempt
Donald Trump’s lawyers are arguing that the civil trial surrounding a lawsuit brought forth by E Jean Caroll which found Trump liable for sexual abuse and slander consisted of improper evidence.
In his opening arguments, Trump’s lawyer John Sauer said, “This case is a textbook example of implausible allegations being propped up by highly inflammatory, inadmissible, propensity evidence.” Sauer also pointed to the 2005 Access Hollywood tape in which Trump bragged about touching women’s private body parts non-consensually.
Meanwhile, Carroll’s lawyers argued that Trump did not offer a single witness in the case while they put on eleven witnesses to the stand. “He had every opportunity to rebut all this evidence, he did not,” Carroll’s lawyers argued.
In 2023, a nine-person jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman changing room in 1996 and subsequently defaming her. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages.
At the core of the appeal attempt is Trump’s lawyers argument that evidence which should have not been allowed in the trial was used and evidence that should have been used was not.
Key events
A handful of anti-Donald Trump protestors have gathered outside Trump Tower as Trump continues with his press conference:
Several anti-Trump protesters have now gathered outside Trump Tower, holding signs reading “guilty” and “justice matters”, among others.
One of them told me that they wish Trump would just respect the judgment made by the court in the E Jean Carroll case. pic.twitter.com/aoLSNhD1x5
— Anna Betts (@annabettss) September 6, 2024
Here is more from the Guardian’s Anna Betts outside Trump Tower:
The crowd outside trump tower is mainly tourists, members of the press and a few trump supporters. Many are hoping to get a glimpse of the former president. pic.twitter.com/0HOVPZZSwV
— Anna Betts (@annabettss) September 6, 2024
The Guardian’s Anna Betts is currently outside Trump Tower where the former president is delivering a rambling press conference following today’s opening arguments in his E Jean Carroll judgement appeal attempt:
I’m outside Trump Tower on fifth avenue in New York, where a small crowd has formed.
The former president is inside the building hosting a press conference. pic.twitter.com/qQuNtDLXxZ
— Anna Betts (@annabettss) September 6, 2024
Anna Betts
Barricades are erected outside the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York City.
A small crowd of people are gathered outside the barriers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the former president.
“This is not the kind of publicity you’d like,” Donald Trump said about the case.
He went on to say, “I should be suing [E Jean Carroll] for defamation” before repeating his attacks on Carroll while talking about how he has been famous for “a long time.”
“She has gone around for years saying this story and it’s a total lie… This whole thing started, along with just about every case I’ve been involved with, with the political campaign of Harris, who’s having a bad time,” he said.
“It’s all fabricated…in front of very friendly judges,” Trump continued.
Donald Trump has started his press conference at Trump Towers in New York City.
He opened up his remarks by attacking E Jean Caroll, calling the whole system “a disgrace” and the case “ridiculous.” He repeated his claims that he has “no idea” who Carroll is and went on to call the case “a rigged deal” and a “setup.”
Trump also called on authorities to look at “China, China, China” and “Iran, Iran, Iran” instead of focusing on his own legal issues.
More than 90 business executives endorse Harris in new letter of support
On Friday, more than 90 business leaders including the heads of Yelp and Chobani endorsed Kamala Harris’s presidential bid in a new letter.
The letter, which was also issued by current and former top executives including the former CEOs of PepsiCo, Ford Motor, Yahoo! and 21st Century Fox, said:
“Harris has a strong record of advancing actions to spur business investment in the United States and ensure American businesses can compete and win in the global market,” CNBC first reported.
The letter adds:
“As a partner to president Biden, vice president Harris has a strong record of advancing actions to spur business investment in the United States and ensure American businesses can compete and win in the global market. She will continue to advance fair and predictable policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment, and she will strive to give every American the opportunity to pursue the American dream.”
Despite his mounting legal woes, Donald Trump is set to return to North Carolina later today to deliver remarks before the Fraternal Order of Police, the world’s largest organization of law enforcement officials which endorsed Trump in 2020.
Trump’s remarks are set to portray himself as tough on crime and a stark contrast to Kamala Harris, who he called the “ringleader” of a “Marxist attack on law enforcement,” the Associated Press reports.
In Michigan last month, Trump attacked Harris, saying that she will “deliver crime, chaos, destruction and death” while he vowed to “deliver law, order, safety and peace.”
Trump’s lawyers argue improper evidence in E Jean Carroll trial amid verdict overturn attempt
Donald Trump’s lawyers are arguing that the civil trial surrounding a lawsuit brought forth by E Jean Caroll which found Trump liable for sexual abuse and slander consisted of improper evidence.
In his opening arguments, Trump’s lawyer John Sauer said, “This case is a textbook example of implausible allegations being propped up by highly inflammatory, inadmissible, propensity evidence.” Sauer also pointed to the 2005 Access Hollywood tape in which Trump bragged about touching women’s private body parts non-consensually.
Meanwhile, Carroll’s lawyers argued that Trump did not offer a single witness in the case while they put on eleven witnesses to the stand. “He had every opportunity to rebut all this evidence, he did not,” Carroll’s lawyers argued.
In 2023, a nine-person jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman changing room in 1996 and subsequently defaming her. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages.
At the core of the appeal attempt is Trump’s lawyers argument that evidence which should have not been allowed in the trial was used and evidence that should have been used was not.
E Jean Carroll’s lawyer laid out her response, saying:
“E Jean Carroll brought this case because Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in 1996 in a dressing room in Bergdorf Goodman and then defamed her in 2022 by claiming that she was crazy and made the whole thing up…”
She went on to add, “This is all about the assault… On top of all that…Donald Trump…had every opportunity to take the stand and rebut all this evidence. He did not. He did not put on a single witness in the civil case. We put on 11.”
Donald Trump’s lawyer John Sauer opened up his argument by saying:
“This case is a textbook example of implausible allegations being propped up by highly inflammatory, inadmissible, propensity evidence.”
He went on to call the case a “quintessential ‘he said she said’ case” and accused E Jean Carroll of being “funded and encouraged by president Trump’s political enemies.”
The opening arguments have begun.
Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates.
Trump arrives in Manhattan court for opening arguments in E Jean Carroll judgement appeal
The motorcade of Donald Trump has arrived at the Manhattan federal appeals court as the former president prepares for opening arguments in his E Jean Carroll judgment appeal.
Here are some images coming through the newswires:
Here are some images coming through the newswires from outside the lower Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is reportedly expected to appear for opening arguments in his appeal of the 2023 E Jean Carroll case judgment:
Donald Trump will potentially be making an appearance at the lower Manhattan courthouse today to try to overturn the 2023 judgment in his case involving writer Jean Carroll.
Victoria Bekiempis, who will be reporting for the Guardian at the courthouse, reports:
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is reportedly poised to attend these proceedings before the US court of appeals for the second circuit this morning. But it is unclear whether he will show up to court – especially with the 2024 election in its final stretch.
A jury found in May 2023 that Trump attacked Carroll in a department store dressing room some 30 years ago. Their award was comprised of $2m for sexual abuse and $3m for defamation, as Trump repeatedly smeared Carroll’s reputation after she came forward against him just over five years ago.
Carroll disclosed the incident in a June 2019 New York magazine article, which was an excerpt of her then-forthcoming book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal; Trump responded by claiming she was lying and trying to damage him politically.
Carroll also won a $83.3m civil verdict against Trump in a second trial this January. The judge in both trials, Lewis Kaplan, determined that jurors’ findings in the first trial – that Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll – would be accepted as fact in the second trial.
For further details, click here:
Trump’s legal woes mount while Harris raises staggering $361m in August
Good morning,
It is a busy day for Donald Trump as his lawyers attempt to appeal against the 2023 judgment in the E Jean Carroll civil case which found the former president liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer. A nine-person jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump is reportedly expected to attend Friday’s oral arguments in the lower Manhattan courthouse.
In other legal woes, judge Juan Merchan who presided over Trump’s hush money criminal trial is expected to rule today on whether he will postpone Trump’s sentencing until after the presidential elections. Trump, who was convicted on all 34 accounts of falsifying business records, was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. However, Merchan delayed the date to September 18 after Trump’s lawyers asked the case to be re-evaluated due to the supreme court’s presidential immunity ruling earlier this summer.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris’s campaign brought in $361 million in contributions last month, nearly tripling the $130 million raised by Trump’s campaign during the same period, Politico reports, citing figures released by both campaigns this week. Harris’s massive fundraising over Trump comes as leading historian Allan Lichtman predicts Harris’s White House victory, come November. Lichtman is said to have correctly predicted every US presidential election since 1984, except for Al Gore’s loss to George W Bush in 2000.
Here are other developments in US politics:
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Joe Biden is set to travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan today where he will speak about his administration’s economic agenda.
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JD Vance is facing backlash after calling school shootings a “fact of life,” a line which Democrats are likely to seize upon in their criticisms of Republicans’ refusal to pass stricter gun laws.