DLNews Breaking News:

IT HAPPENED IN THE LOCKER ROOM

There is no threat of jail but a political Waterloo.

Ex-President Donald Trump (76) was held legally responsible by a federal court in New York for a previous "sexual abuse."

Donald Trump suffered a setback at the New York trial

The nine jurors came to the shock verdict on Tuesday afternoon. They essentially believed the plaintiff E. Jean Carroll (79): In the three-week trial, she had stated that Trump raped her in 1996 in the dressing room of the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman. After that, he damaged her reputation with derogatory remarks, she said.

The verdict came after two hours of "jury" deliberations: The panel did not see Trump responsible for the alleged rape, but at least for "sexual abuse." Moreover, he was found to have defamed Carroll by his statements. The fine was also heavy: five million dollars.

Former "Elle" columnist E. Jean Carroll sued Trump - and beamed after the verdict

Trump had previously denied everything! He called the allegations "fictitious." He demonstratively avoided the trial in the Southern District courthouse in Lower Manhattan. And refrained from testifying.

Trump doesn't have to fear prison because it was a civil trial. But the drama is a severe setback in terms of reputation and prestige. Moreover, the “guilty” comes at a volatile time: The Republican is campaigning to retake the White House in the 2024 election.

Trump fumed on his social network Truth Social: "I have no idea who this woman is. This verdict is a disgrace - a sequel to the greatest witch hunt ever!"

Carroll's descriptions had shocked trial observers: She told how Trump flirted with her when he asked her for help choosing a gift for a woman.

According to the plaintiff, both ended up in a dressing room in the lingerie department. According to Carroll, he pushed her against the wall so hard that she hit her head: The abuse is said to have occurred after the violent removal of her underwear.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan had also allowed other women to testify about alleged abuse by the defendant: Jessica Leeds reported on an incident during a scheduled flight in the 1970s in which Trump grabbed her under the blouse.

Former People reporter Natasha Stoynoff said he kissed her unasked at his Mar-a-Lago department - while his wife Melania, 53, was in the next room getting ready to go out...

 

Other witnesses testified about alleged attacks.

With the help of the other witnesses, Carroll wanted to show a pattern of behavior: Trump ticks as a sex prodigy who thinks he is unassailable. The jury was also shown the "Access Hollywood" video, which broke during the 2016 election campaign, in which Trump brags to a TV host that he can kiss women and grab their crotches because he is famous.

Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina dismissed the allegations as fabricated.

Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina (57), fired back: Carroll made it all up to market her book and collaborated with other women in some conspiracy to bring down Trump.

He wanted to know: Why didn't she scream? Why didn't she go to the police? And in general: How could it be that she later described herself as a fan of Trump's TV show "The Apprentice"? "Astonishing. Strange. Incomprehensible. Unbelievable," Tacopina concluded in his pleading, "Everything, in this case, is one of those things!"

A conviction could put Trump in political distress.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the former fashion magazine "Elle" columnist is not "his type" at all. Embarrassing, however: Trump was shown a photo of Carroll in a video statement before the trial. He thought it was his ex-wife Marla Maples (59). For Carroll's chief attorney Roberta Kaplan, it was a godsend: the plaintiff was "exactly his type," she thundered.

What does the verdict mean for Trump politically? "That could cost him the presidency," former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy said in the New York Post.

The fact that Trump has now been held responsible for a sexual assault by a court could trigger a "political earthquake." The conviction of a presidential candidate and former president is "unprecedented" in US history, it has been recalled.

According to US political observers, this could cost him the majority of women's votes at the ballot box, which he desperately needs to win.

In addition, Trump is threatened with a further escalation of his judicial problems: Last month, he was arrested and charged – also in New York – for paying hush money to the alleged ex-lover Stormy Daniels.

The subsequent indictment for attempted election manipulation in the US state of Georgia is expected in the summer. In addition, special counsel Jack Smith (53) is investigating the kidnapping of secret documents from the White House and Trump's role in his supporters' storming of the Capitol (January 6, 2021).

So far, however, the Republican's legendary "Teflon armor," from which everything bounces off, still seemed intact: It remains to be seen whether cracks will appear due to the current conviction.