‘Donald Trump raped me’: Writer E Jean Carroll testifies in New York court

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and ruined my reputation. I’m here to try to get my life back.”

That was during the first moments of E. Jean Carroll‘s testimony today in her civil rape lawsuit against Donald Trump. She took the stand shortly after 11 a.m. and was prepared as she gave an at-times imperfect description of the alleged assault. It appeared to be a strategic move on the part of her attorneys: by questioning Carroll about why she couldn’t remember the exact date of the event, whether she screamed and said “no,” and repeatedly eliciting incriminating testimony. they preemptively addressed Team Trump’s supposed legal strategy.

“That question — when, when, the date — is something I’m constantly trying to figure out,” Carroll said.

The courtroom playbook for accused abusers almost always includes attacks on the accuser’s memory, her motivation to come forward (or stay silent—you can’t win!), and her overall state of mind. Carroll attorney Michael Ferraro’s questions settled that immediately. Carroll may not have remembered every little thing that happened, but the important points — how Trump allegedly shoved her into the locker room, slammed her against the wall, pulled down her stockings and forced himself inside her — those details were clear. Those were things that definitely stuck with her.

The civil trial accusing Trump of rape and defamation began yesterday with jury selection. Trump this morning described the case against him as a “made-up SCAM.” Today, that jury of six men and three women carefully watched some scribbled notes as Carroll described the fateful day she said Trump sexually assaulted her.

When she finished filming her show, she stopped by Bergdorf Goodman: “I was leaving the store. I was leaving.” “He raised his hand,” Carroll recalled, raising her own: “It’s the universal stop sign.”

“What did you do?” Ferrara asked. “I stopped,” she said.

“He said, ‘Hey, you’re the counselor.’ I said ‘Hey, you’re the real estate mogul.'” Trump said he needed to buy something for the girl, she said, and “I was delighted . This is where Donald Trump asked me for advice on how to buy a gift.” It was an “awesome” prospect for a funny story.

They walked around the store and Carroll suggested a few things—a purse, a hat. “He picked up the hat, which was a fur hat, and petted it like a little cat or dog,” Carroll said. “And as he stroked it, he said, ‘I know—underwear.'”

They traveled to the sixth floor. There were lace points on the display counter. “He grabbed it and said, ‘Go put it on,'” Carroll said, lowering her voice to mimic the former president’s sometimes arrogant tone. Did she try it? “No, I didn’t mean to wear it.

“I said, ‘You put it on,'” Carroll testified. “He held it. He held it against me. ‘You’re in shape, you put it on.'” Carroll, who said their banter was jovial, wasn’t worried; it all felt light, fun. “He was having a good time and so was I. “

“I saw it as a Saturday Night Live sketch,” she recalled, noting that she actually wrote a similar plot during her time as a writer on the show. “I was probably flirting the whole time. Trump led her into the dressing room, which was open; Carroll made it clear that Trump did not force her there. They entered the dressing room.

“That open door has bothered me for years because I just walked in,” she said.

“He immediately closed the door and pushed me against the wall,” Carroll said. He shoved her so roughly that she hit her head against the wall. She didn’t quite understand what was going on. “For a minute I thought it was a mistake,” she said.

“I pushed him away and he threw me back against the wall again and hit me in the head again,” Carroll said. Did she scream? Scream for help? “I didn’t want to make a scene. I know it sounds weird. I didn’t want to make him mad at me.”

Trump put his shoulder on Carroll and pinned her to the wall. He bent down and pulled her stockings down. She was pushing him and “it was very clear” she didn’t want what he was doing. “His fingers went into my vagina, which was extremely painful—extremely painful. It was a terrible feeling because he curved — he put his hand into me and curved his fingers,” Carroll said.

“As I sit here today, I can still feel it,” she said. Then he forced himself into her. Carroll described trying to break away.

“What were you doing at the time?”

“Me,” Carroll began with several false starts and took a long pause. She lowered her voice and began to choke. “You asked me what I did,” Carroll said. “I’ll always remember why I went in there to get into the situation. But I’m proud to say I got out.”

But did she say “no”? “There was so much adrenaline flowing through me then. I can’t tell you if I said ‘no,’” she said.

Carroll, whose testimony continues this afternoon, also briefly described the aftermath of Trump’s alleged attack. “I know people who have been through a lot worse than this,” she said. In her case, “it caused me to never be able to have a romantic life again.”