#EJeanCarroll v #Trump closing arguments. Thread. 🪡 1/… #legal
Roberta Kaplan:
"You saw for yourself. E. Jean Carroll wasn't hiding anything."
Her testimony was "credible," "consistent," and "powerful."
Roberta Kaplan shows the clip of Trump's deposition video where he mixes up Carroll with Marla Maples.
2/ Kaplan:
"Mr. Trump pointed to Ms. Carroll, the woman he supposedly said was not his type." [...]He only corrected himself when his own lawyer" corrected him.
Trump "did why he always does" when caught: "He made up an excuse," saying that it was "blurry."
3/ "He grabbed her, using his words, 'by the p----.'".. shows clip of Trump saying stars "historically" grab women, "unfortunately or fortunately
"Who would say 'fortunately' to describe" an act of "sexual assault?" [...]
"He thinks stars like him can get away with it."
Robbie Kaplan on Trump skipping trial:
👉🏼"He didn't even bother to show up in person."👈🏼
4/ This is all via @KlasfeldReports btw:
Robbie Kaplan on Trump's video deposition:
"In a very real sense, Trump is a witness against himself." [...]
Trump "knows what he did. He knows he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll."
Robbie Kaplan hashes out the timeline.
Carroll said it happened while she had her TV show "Ask E. Jean," which aired between July 1994 to July 1996.
She says she wore wool dress with tights, but no coat, which provides a hint on the weather, Kaplan said.
5/ Carroll said it must have happened after her friend Lisa Birnbach published her piece on Mar-a-Lago, which was Feb 1996. She believes it was on a Thurs, bc the store was open late that day.
"She was trying to come to grips with the fact that she was being attacked."
Kaplan says Carroll members the attack itself in "great detail.". explains to jurors why they showed Roger Ailes' interview w Trump..noted Ailes talk show shot in same building, on same network, where Carroll's show was taped
6/ Trump would have seen the end of Carroll's show if he watched his own interview with Ailes, unless he switched it on at the exact moment, Robbie Kaplan notes.
Note: I’m going to back up and add what Matthew Russell Lee is reporting:
All rise!
Judge Kaplan: OK, jury charge.
Objection is made, and sustained, to inclusion of phrase about "ejaculate." Then finance and, Trump
Trump's lawyer Brandt wants reference to financial capacity out.
Judge Kaplan: He called himself a "star." Overruled.
7/ Judge Kaplan: Bring in the jury.
Jury entering!
Judge Kapan: I hope you enjoyed this beautiful weekend. We're going to hear closing arguments now. I anticipate two hours, the defendant a bit more, then a half hour rebuttal. We'll order lunch early
Judge Kaplan: Tomorrow morning I'll instruct you on the law, 50 minutes or an hour and ten minutes, something like that - they you'll get the case. It remains important you have no contact with the press or social media.
9/ Counsel: You haven't heard much from Donald Trump in this trial. He said, She is not my type. He repeated that in his deposition. But when showed the photo DJT 23
[deposition played]
Counsel: He pointed at Ms. Carroll and said That's Marla, my wife. This is a photo of E. Jean Carroll. Their hairdo was the same. She was exactly his type. He made up an excuse. He said it was blurry. It is not blurry
10/ Now Access Hollywood tape played: Grab them by p*ssy.
Counsel: You heard Jessica Leeds & Natasha Stoynoff say he did just that to them. W Ms Carroll he, in his words, grabbed him by the p*ssy.
[deposition about history of a star can do anything played]
Counsel: He said it was fortunate stars like him can get away w it. We had 11 witnesses. On the other side? Only Trump. He didn't even bother to show up here in person. It's not he said, she said. It's what Trump said vs all other witnesses
11/ Counsel: Trump in this trial is a witness against himself. Let me give you an ex - the doors of the dressing rooms at Bergdorf Goodman were not, as the defense claims, always locked
[Note: Inner City Press went to Bergdorf, video later with booklet]
Counsel: Mr. Carroll can't specify the date, but she has all the details. She drove to 58th and 5th Avenue. She entered on the 58th Street entrance. Through that door she saw Donald Trump. They recognized each other. He was fairly well known.
12/ Counsel: Trump called E. Jean Carroll, That advice lady. Donald Trump loves to watch TV. He saw her on TV. He knew her through Roger Ailes. Mr. Trump went to the New Jersey TV studio where Ms. Carroll taped her show
Counsel: This was before streaming and YouTube. You put the channel on. You might see a few minutes of the previous show. For Donald Trump to see himself on Roger Ailes' show, he may have seen the end of E. Jean Carroll's show
14/ Counsel: This was a combination of humor and flirting. It was a joke. Like when Ms. Carroll was a writer for SNL. Tragically things took a dark turn. Into the dressing room, the door locked. She asked herself why she went in. She feels embarrassed and stupid
At that time Trump was known as a playboy, a man about town, not a predator. But he pounced. She pushed back. She weighed 120 lb, he at least 100 lb more. She tried to hit him with her purse. Trump pinned her and pulled down her tights
16/ Counsel: EJean Carroll went on a roadtrip; news broke about Harvey Weinstein. She conducted interviews. It was wks before she decided to incl Trump in her book. An excerpt was published in NY Magazine. Trump did more than deny it.
Trump attacked her from the White House, calling her a liar. She lost her job at Elle and the trust of her readers. She started sleeping with a loaded gun in her bed. She filed a lawsuit. But that did not stop him. In October 2022, Mr. Trump doubled down
18/ Okay, I'm back. Catching up from where we left off:
Counsel: You heard from expert Leslie Lebowitz that people remember traumatic events in strange ways - some details and not others. She told you Ms. Carroll suffered self-blame.
Counsel: Mr. Tapopina tried to imply there is something wrong with Ms. Carroll having tried to continue on to have a happy life, to open her Substack. Why is Mr. Trump trying to blame Ms. Carroll for these things? He argues that a victim must act like a victim.
20/ Counsel: In 2016, Leeds saw Trump running for president, deny he assaulted women. Stoynoff, in December 2005 had been in Mar-a-Lago. Trump used his M.O., closed the door and pinned her against the wall. 👉 The pattern is clear👈
LIES:
Trump says he didn't shop at Bergdorf. That was a lie. He said he didn't meet Ms. Carroll. That was a lie. He said she was not his type - but confused her with Marla Maples. He lied and said the professionally taken photo was blurry. He lied about Ailes
21/ Counsel: He had appeared with Ailes on TV, already friends in 1995. Donald Trump is lying... Tomorrow am Judge Kaplan will tell you about the law. He told you this is not a criminal case. It is a civil case. If he's liable, he's not going to jail.
The law allows you to compensate E. Jean Carroll. I'm not going to tell you how much. On behalf of our team and E. Jean Carroll, thank you.
[Whispered sidebar]Judge Kaplan: Jurors, you can start lunch now. We'll resume at noon w defense closing.
22/ Whoa.
Via Klasfeld that I missed:
Robbie Kaplan:
"News—
Robbie Kaplan says she will decline to offer a specific damage award request.
"For E. Jean Carroll, this lawsuit is not about the money."
Instead, she says, it's about getting her "name back."
23/ Catching up on the rest of Klasfeld. Here's more:
After Carroll went forward in the wake of #MeToo, Trump attacked her from his White House perch, Kaplan says.
Concerned for her security in the blowback, Kaplan said, Carroll started sleeping with a loaded gun in her bed.
Robbie Kaplan quotes psychological expert Dr. Lebowitz as saying: "People have really strange, really unexpected reactions to traumatic situations all the time."
24/ Though Tacopina suggested Carroll not screaming was implausible, the expert testified that screaming "is one of the least likely things to actually occur," Kaplan noted.
Kaplan says that Carroll remembers the alleged rape in "vivid, technicolor detail." [...]
"She remembers the sound of Trump's heavy breathing as he was facing the wall next to her neck." [...]
"She remembers certain things vividly, and other things, not so much."
25/ Kaplan:
"The psychological expert in this case believes Ms. Carroll."
Robbie Kaplan summarizing Trump's defense:
"If a woman is going to accuse a man of sexual assault, she must play the part."
Robbie Kaplan, later, on that subject:
"That's just plain wrong."
Kaplan refers to the "Big Lie" at the heart of Trump's defense: That Carroll, Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin are all lying.
"I'm sorry. Seriously? That's just ridiculous."
@GottaLaff Wow - #JeanCarroll didn't ask for a specific dollar amount of damages, nor refer to the fact that Trump is (allegedly) a billionaire?
I guess they are walking a fine line between wanting compensation w/o wanting to appear greedy.
"...Trump's lawyer Brandt wants reference to financial capacity out.
Judge Kaplan: He called himself a "star." Overruled."
Gotta ❤️ this judge: LMAO
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