A columnist can proceed with lawsuits alleging she was raped by former President Donald Trump in a department store a quarter century ago, a federal judge ruled Friday, upholding a temporary New York state law letting adult victims of sexual abuse sue their abusers.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said lawsuits alleging rape and defamation and seeking unspecified damages by writer E. Jean Carroll could proceed to trial because Trump’s challenges were without merit.
“The fact that Mr. Trump denies Ms. Carroll’s allegations does not enter into the analysis at this stage of the case,” the Manhattan jurist wrote. “What, if anything, actually occurred must await further proceedings if the complaint withstands the present motion.”
Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said in a statement: “While we are disappointed with the Court’s decision, we intend to immediately appeal the order and continue to advocate for our client’s constitutionally protected rights.”
In the ruling, Kaplan said the Adult Survivor’s Act was similar to the Child Victims Act, another New York state law that temporarily allowed victims of sexual assaults when they were children to sue their abusers years later.
“Mr. Trump has not offered any meritorious reason to reject the one-year revival period in the ASA as unreasonable when the nearly identical two-year revival period in the Child Victims Act has been accepted as reasonable by all courts to consider it,” Kaplan wrote.
Lawyers for the former president had asked the judge to toss out the lawsuit after Trump said the encounter at an upscale Manhattan department store never happened.
Trump said Carroll made the claim publicly for the first time in a 2019 book to generate book sales.
Carroll was a longtime Elle magazine columnist. She initially sued Trump for defamation after he mocked her claims that he sexually assaulted her in late 1995 or early 1996 after they had a chance meeting in the department store and she agreed to help him pick out lingerie for a friend.
Trump has repeatedly denied the encounter took place, calling her allegations “a complete con job” and saying “she’s not my type.”
“No pictures? No surveillance? No video? No reports? No sales attendants around??” Trump said in one of various statements and interviews. “People should pay dearly for such false accusations.”
Carroll sued Trump with the rape claim in November, when the Adult Survivor’s Act took effect.
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll who is not related to the judge, said in an email: “We are pleased though not surprised that Judge Kaplan denied Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss and upheld the constitutionality of New York’s Adult Survivors Act. We look forward to trial in April. ”
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All the women accusing Trump of sexual assault
When it allegedly happened: Around 1980
Where it allegedly happened: On a plane
What she said: Jessica Leeds, a 74-year-old Manhattan resident, told The New York Times that Trump inappropriately touched her “like an octopus” during a flight from Connecticut to New York. According to Leeds, a flight attendant upgraded her to first-class, escorting her to an open seat next to Trump. Once they were airborne, Trump raised the seat divider, grabbed her chest, and attempted to move one of his hands up her skirt, she said.
What Trump said: Trump told a the Times reporter asking about the incident that “none of this ever took place” before calling her a “disgusting human being.” One of his attorneys Tuesday morning demanded an immediate retraction and an apology from the paper. High-ranking sources in the Trump campaign tell CNN’s Brian Stelter and Dylan Byers the campaign has started drafting a lawsuit.
When it allegedly happened: 2003
Where it allegedly happened: The Mar-a-Lago Club
What she said: Mindy McGillivray, a 36-year-old Palm Springs, Florida, resident, told the Palm Beach Post that Trump groped her 13 years ago when she was assisting a photographer hired to work a concert at the club. “This was a pretty good nudge. More of a grab,” she said. “It was pretty close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped.”
What Trump said: Like with the New York Times, Trump campaign sources have told CNN’s Brian Stelter and Dylan Byers the campaign is drafting a lawsuit against the Florida newspaper.
When it allegedly happened: 2006
Where it allegedly happened: Outside a Trump Tower elevator
What she said: Eleven years ago, Bayrock Group receptionist Rachel Crooks greeted Trump outside a elevator in the building where they both worked. She said she attempted to be cordial to one of her company’s business partners. But after saying hello and shaking hands, she claims Trump kissed her on her cheeks and then on the mouth. “It was so inappropriate,” she told the New York Times. “I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.”
What Trump said: Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, called The New York Times article “fiction” on Wednesday night. “For the New York Times to launch a completely false, coordinated character assassination against Mr. Trump on a topic like this is dangerous,” Miller said in a statement, which reacted to both claims. “To reach back decades in an attempt to smear Mr. Trump trivializes sexual assault, and it sets a new low for where the media is willing to go in its efforts to determine this election.”
When it allegedly happened: 2005
Where it allegedly happened: The Mar-a-Lago Club
What she said: During an assignment to cover Trump’s one-year wedding anniversary to his wife, Melania, People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff claims the now-presidential candidate pushed her against a wall, started “forcing his tongue” down her throat, and physically attacked her during a tour of the place. “Now, I’m a tall, strapping girl who grew up wrestling two giant brothers. I even once sparred with Mike Tyson. It takes a lot to push me. But Trump is much bigger — a looming figure — and he was fast, taking me by surprise and throwing me off balance,” she wrote.
What Trump said: Trump’s campaign, which has not responded to CNN’s request for comment, told People that the incident never happened. “There is no merit or veracity to this fabricated story,” a spokeswoman said.
When it allegedly happened: 2010
Where it allegedly happened: Trump Tower
What she said: According to CNN’s Erin Burnett, Trump suggested her friend, who was with him in a Trump Tower boardroom, take some Tic Tacs. Then he leaned in to kiss her on the lips, which caught her off guard. “I was really freaked out,” the woman later told Burnett. After that, Trump invited her into his office alone. He told the woman she was “special” and proceeded to give her his cell phone number. “I ran the hell out of there,” the friend told Burnett.
What Trump said: The Trump campaign has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.
When it allegedly happened: 1997
Where it allegedly happened: Shreveport, Louisiana and later at Trump Tower
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What she said: The former Miss Utah claims Trump gave her a non-consensual embrace and kissed her on the lips during a rehearsal for the Miss USA Pageant. The beauty contestant was 21 at the time, and Taggart says the behavior was repeated later during a meeting at Trump Tower.
“I felt awkward, and I just remember in my mind going, ‘what does he think this is,'” she told CNN’s Burnett. “Like, I’m thinking he’s married. This is awkward for me. He’s much older. This is not at all what I came here for. So, to me, it was like I hope he knows that I’m here for business. I’m not here for anything other than business.”
What Trump said: “I don’t even know who she is,” Trump told NBC News. “She claims this took place in a public area. I never kissed her. I emphatically deny this ridiculous claim.”
When it allegedly happened: Early 1990s
Where it allegedly happened: A Manhattan nightclub
What she said: Today Anderson is a photographer, but back then she was an aspiring model. She told the Washington Post she was sitting on a couch and talking to friends when, as the Washington Post describes it, “his fingers slid under her miniskirt, moved up her inner thigh, and touched her vagina through her underwear.” She didn’t know Trump, but says she recognized him instantly when she pulled away. CNN has not independently confirmed the claim.
What Trump said: “It is illogical and nonsensical to think Donald Trump was alone in a nightclub in Manhattan and that the alleged incident and recognition of Mr. Trump went unnoticed by both the woman involved and anyone else in this ‘crowded’ venue,'” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, who said it was a “political attack designed to take down Mr. Trump.”
When it allegedly happened: 2007
Where it allegedly happened: The Beverly Hills Hotel
What she said: A former Apprentice contestant, Zervos said Trump first kissed her during a meeting in New York, but she was still interested in getting a job at The Trump Organization. She met Trump for dinner in Los Angeles and says that she was escorted into a room next to where he was getting dressed. Zervos claims he later kissed her “very aggressively and placed his hand on my breast.” Zervos said she still had dinner with Trump and later called him to inquire about getting a job. She made the allegations during a press conference with the attorney Gloria Allred. CNN has not independently verified this claim.
What Trump said: “I vaguely remember Ms. Zervos as one of the many contestants on The Apprentice over the years,” Trump said in a statement. “To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. That is not who I am as a person, and it is not how I’ve conducted my life. In fact, Ms. Zervos continued to contact me for help, emailing my office on April 14th of this year asking that I visit her restaurant in California.”
When it allegedly happened: 1997
Where it allegedly happened: Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club
What she said: Heller, now 63, says she met Trump at Mar-a-Lago almost 20 years ago during a Mother’s Day brunch, she told The Guardian newspaper. Heller said she had been introduced to Trump by her mother-in-law. She says Trump “took my hand, and grabbed me, and went for the lips,” without her consent. She said Trump held her in place and kissed her. The Guardian reported that it spoke to a friend who Heller told about the incident and a relative who witnessed part of it. CNN has not been able to independently confirm Heller’s claims.
What Trump said: Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign, said in a statement there was “no way” Heller’s account is true. “The media has gone too far in making this false accusation,” Miller said in a statement. “There is no way that something like this would have happened in a public place on Mother’s Day at Mr. Trump’s resort. It would have been the talk of Palm Beach for the past two decades. The reality is this: for the media to wheel out a politically motivated Democratic activist with a legal dispute against this same resort owned by Mr. Trump does a disservice to the public, and anyone covering this story should be embarrassed for elevating this bogus claim.”
When it allegedly happened: 1992-1993
Where it allegedly happened: A Manhattan nightclub and later at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club
What she said: Harth and her then-boyfriend, George Houraney, entered into a business venture with Donald Trump which included holding an event at one of the real estate magnate’s Atlantic City casinos. Donald Trump made unwanted sexual advances towards her, including groping her under her skirt on two different occasions in 1992 and 1993 during their initial meetings, according to Harth’s lawyer, Lisa Bloom.
What Trump said: Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said in a statement to CNN: “Mr. Trump denies each and every statement made by Ms. Harth. These 24 year old allegations lack any merit or veracity, as evidenced by her repeated requests for employment, attempts to seek out Mr. Trump, and her support of Mr. Trump’s candidacy.” The Trump campaign has shared emails from Harth, the last one from January of this year, in which she thanks Trump and offers up her support for his presidential run.
When it allegedly happened: 2006
Where it allegedly happened: In a hotel suite at a charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada
What she said: Drake, an adult film performer and director, said he invited her to his suite and she brought two other women because she did not feel comfortable attending alone. She said he hugged and kissed each of them without permission. Drake said she left after 30-45 minutes but later received a phone call from Trump, who asked her to return and go out to dinner or attend a party with him. When she declined, he offered her $10,000 and use of his private jet if she accepted. At a news conference on October 22, Drake’s lawyer displayed a photo of Trump and Drake together.
What Trump said: The Trump campaign issued a statement that said in part: “This story is totally false and ridiculous. The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in ever knowing her. This is just another attempt by the Clinton campaign to defame a candidate who just today is number one in three different polls.”
When it allegedly happened: 1998
Where it allegedly happened: Outside the US Open
What she said: While waiting for car service outside the US Open, Virginia said, Trump “walked up to me and reached his right arm and grabbed my right arm. Then his hand touched the right inside of my breast. I was in shock. I flinched. ‘Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who I am?’ That is what he said to me.”
What Trump said: The White House has dismissed the validity of the claim, calling Virginia’s lawyer, Gloria Allred a “discredited political operative,” according to The New York Times.
When it allegedly happened: 2006
Where it allegedly happened: At an event outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City
“Before the show we were photographed outside the building,” Laaksonen told The Telegraph, a British newspaper. “Trump stood right next to me and suddenly he squeezed my butt. He really grabbed my butt.”
What Trump said: Trump has not spoken out specifically about Laaksonen but he has called all sexual misconduct allegations “totally false” and threatened to sue women accusing him of any improper sexual behavior.
When it allegedly happened: August 2016
Where it allegedly happened: A Trump campaign RV in Florida
What she said: Lawyers for Johnson, a former Trump campaign worker, say Trump came into the RV and provided some motivational words. When Secret Service alerted the presidential candidate he was due for his next rally, he allegedly grasped her hand and praised her efforts, tightening his grip and leaning toward her. “Ms. Johnson suddenly realized that Defendant Trump was trying to kiss her on the mouth, and attempted to avoid this by turning her head to the right. Defendant Trump kissed her anyway, and the kiss landed on the corner of her mouth,” a lawsuit, which was dismissed in June 2019, according to the Tampa Bay Times, states.
What Trump said: Trump’s lawyers urged for the case to be dismissed. While it was dismissed earlier this month, the judge in the case said Johnson’s lawyers could file an amended complaint.
When it allegedly happened: 1995 or 1996
Where it allegedly happened: The Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City
What she said: In excerpts in her new book, Carroll claims that she encountered Trump at the department store where she says he attacked her in one of the dressing rooms after pressing her to try on lingerie and pulling her toward the dressing room. She alleged he “unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.” She says she fought against Trump.
What Trump said: Trump accused Carroll of sharing her account to boost book sales, comparing her to women who he says “falsely accused” Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault during his contentious confirmation hearings. He also implied that Democrats could be involved in Carroll’s “false accusations” but did not offer any details as to how, and Carroll on Monday denied any political affiliation or motivation.
Additionally, the President said in a statement released on Friday that he “never met this person,” though the article published that same day includes a photo of Trump and Carroll talking in a group. After seeing the photo, Trump maintained that he doesn’t know who she is.
