In New
York, former
President Donald Trump is staring down
another round of legal trouble
as a civil trial
stemming from a rape allegation
gets underway.
CNN senior legal affairs
correspondent Paula Reid is standing by
just outside the courthouse in Manhattan.
Paula, tell us how
today's opening statements
played inside the courtroom
Well, good evening, Wolf.
Just moments ago,
Jean Carroll
left the courthouse here in Manhattan.
And as you noted,
this trial, it's already well underway.
They have impaneled a jury
and that jury heard opening statements.
Now, Carroll's team
told the jury that this alleged attack
was part of a pattern of occurrence
of behavior towards women.
But lawyers for Trump
say that Carroll is,
quote, scheming
with others to hurt Trump politically.
And that,
they said, is
something that should only be done
at a ballot box, not inside a courtroom.
Eugene
Carroll walking into the Manhattan
federal courthouse this morning
to chants from supporters as
we
wait
for the first day of her battery
and defamation case
against former President Donald Trump.
It took just a few hours to in panel
a jury to hear the civil case.
And opening arguments
began this afternoon.
The trial comes after Carroll sued Trump,
accusing him of raping her
in a department store in the nineties.
That was just a dumb thing
to go into a dressing room
with a man that I hardly know
And have him shut the door
and then be unable to stop him.
Sexual violence is in every country,
in every strata of society.
Carroll first went public
with her allegations
against Trump in 2019.
Then President Trump
fired back at Carroll,
denying the allegations
and saying the two never even met.
I have no idea who this woman is.
This is a woman who's also accused
other men of things. As you know,
it is a totally false accusation.
Despite this photo from the 1980s
showing Carroll and Trump
chatting, which Trump acknowledges,
there's some picture
where we're shaking hands
it looks like at some kind of it.
Carroll's lawyers say
they plan to call witnesses
to back up her story.
And the judge has ruled
two other women who alleged Trump
forced himself on them
can also take the stand.
Carroll's team
could also play a clip
from the infamous Access Hollywood tape
that surfaced during the 2016
presidential election.
You know, I'm automatically attracted to.
I just started kissing them.
It's like a magnet just to
I don't even know where
and when you're a star,
they let you do it.
You can do anything.
The Trump camp has previously dismissed
his comments
on that tape as nothing more than, quote,
locker room talk.
Trump is not expected
to appear for this trial
unless called to testify.
But his spokesman released a statement
Tuesday saying
this latest fake case
has no merit or facts
and is just another part of the witch
hunt targeted
to interfere and tamper with
a presidential election.
This is not a criminal trial.
This is a civil case.
And Carroll is seeking unspecified
monetary damages.
She also wants a retraction
of a social media post where Trump said
she wasn't being truthful.
The trial, Wolf, is expected
to last about two weeks.
All right, Paula, I want you to stand by.
Also, I want to bring in CNN legal
analyst Dormice and get his perspective.
Norm Trump's lawyer
is trying to poke holes in Carol's
evidence of this alleged assault.
And he's saying
the jurors can hate Donald Trump,
but they should take that
to the ballot box
rather than to this court of law.
What do you make of this
opening statement?
Well, Wolf,
a Trump is going to attempt
to throw his lawyers
in this case and more generally
point to this
these
accusations as being
part of a political pattern.
For example,
his attorneys have pointed to the timing,
to the fact
that he, Jean, Carroll,
did not file a police report at the time,
that she did not come forward publicly.
But the problem is
MS.
Carroll is a very credible witness and
she did talk about this with others.
Some of them may testify.
And, of course, there's
a larger pattern of conduct.
I think the evidence is in Carol's favor.
Paula,
how did Carroll's lawyers
try to bolster their case
in their opening statements
today, considering
there were no direct
eyewitnesses
at the scene of the alleged assault
since So they're trying to establish this
as part
of a pattern of forcibly kissing,
groping and grabbing women.
And in order to do that,
they're going to rely on several
different types of evidence.
First of all, witnesses, both women
that she spoke to at the time,
contemporaneous accounts
that she gave
after this alleged incident,
as well as women
who have experience
alleged
other similar incidents
with the former president.
They also,
of course, have the infamous Access
Hollywood tape
where then candidate
Trump, where I guess he was
then a citizen during that that exchange.
He describes behavior
that's very similar to this pattern
that they're trying to establish.
So, again,
even though they don't have
eyewitness accounts,
they're trying to bolster this,
showing other similar incidents.
Knowing the judge right
now, he's
demanding an answer
on whether Trump
will testify in person
by the end of this week.
How important is it for his defense
that the former president
actually shows up?
Well, Wolf,
the jury is
going to notice that
Jean Carroll
is there every day, all day long.
And the jury was very attentive
today, very engaged, and that there's
an absence at the defense table.
There is no avoiding that.
That being said, having argued
to juries, having served on juries,
the defendant's absence here
is not going to be dispositive.
But I do think it leaves
a gap in the courtroom.
And some of those jurors
are going to say, well, if Mr.
Trump feels so strongly, where is he?
Nor am I going to read.
Guys, thank you very, very much.
Or stay on top of this story for sure.