Writer E. Jean Carroll sued President Trump on Monday for defamation over her claim that he raped her 23 years ago in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan.
The advice columnist says Trump engaged in “malicious libel” by saying she was lying about the rape claim.
“I am filing this on behalf of every woman who has ever been harassed, assaulted, silenced or spoken up only to be shamed, fired, ridiculed and belittled,” Carroll said in a statement. “No person in this country should be above the law — including the president.”
The suit in Manhattan Supreme Court demands unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham call the suit “frivolous” and Carroll “a fraud.”
“Let me get this straight — Ms. Carroll is suing the president for defending himself against false allegations? I guess since the book did not make any money she’s trying to get paid another way,” Grisham said. “The story she used to try and sell her trash book never happened, period. Her version of events is not even feasible if you’ve ever tried on clothing in a dressing room of a crowded department store. The lawsuit is frivolous and the story is a fraud — just like the author.”
Carroll came forward about the alleged rape last summer after keeping quiet for more than two decades. Trump claims he has never met Carroll even though a photo shows them together in the 1980s.
Trump also said the rape claim was outrageous because “she is not my type.”
“People should pay dearly for such false accusations,” Trump said after Carroll made the allegation.
The writer, now 75, says in the suit that she was struck by Trump’s “boyish good looks” when they ran into each other as he walked into the famed department store.
He stopped her and said, “Hey, you’re that advice lady!” she says in the suit. “Hey, you’re that real estate guy!” she replied.
Trump persuaded Carroll to help him look for a present for a woman and settled on a bodysuit, which he insisted she try on for him.
He allegedly pushed her into a dressing room and raped her. Carroll says she told two friends about the alleged attack but never reported it to police. The statute of limitations has expired in the case.
A similar defamation case by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who claims Trump groped her, is working its way through the legal system, raising the possibility that Trump will have to face depositions about the cases in the heat of the 2020 presidential race.
