Disgraced former President, Donald Trump, to stand trial following rape allegation

Disgraced former President of the United States, Donald Trump, will stand trial in a civil court following an accusation of rape from author E Jean Carroll, who wrote an essay for New York magazine in 2019 about her alleged experience of being attacked by him in the mid-90s. The trial sees Trump being sued by Carroll for battery in New York under the Adult Survivors Act, jury selection is due to begin today and it is reported that both Trump and Carroll will appear in court. The trial is expected to last for two weeks.

Carroll alleges the incident occurred in a Bergdorf Goodman department store and wrote that she was advised against reporting the incident by friends, who told her to "forget it, he has 200 lawyers... he'll bury you". The then-President's team dismissed the allegation as being "fiction" and suggested Carroll had crafted the story as a means of gaining publicity in order to sell her book, What Do We Need Men For?

Writing in her essay, Carroll alleged that the attack took place in a fitting room when Trump was shopping for lingerie and he jokingly asked her to model the items for him. Carroll claims that he pinned her against a wall in a "colossal struggle" and raped her.

"[I] was in shock and did not wish to think of [myself] as a rape victim," she added, previously stating she did not wish to describe the alleged sexual assault as rape, instead opting for the word 'fight'. "My word is fight. My word is not the victim word ... I fought."

More than a dozen other women have also previously made sexual misconduct allegations against Trump (all of which he has denied).

This isn't the only court case Trump is currently dealing with either: he recently plead not guilty to 34 counts related to money paid to adult film star, Stormy Daniels in 2016, with whom he allegedly had an affair and then tried to silence. It was the first time criminal charges have been bought against any former US President.

Trump has also announced his plans to run for re-election, so if he's found guilty of sexual assault, serious barriers could be put in place.

Who is E Jean Carroll?

Real name Elizabeth Jean Carroll, best known by her pen name 'E Jean Carroll', is a long-time journalist, author, and advice columnist, having had a column in the American edition of ELLE (running from 1993 until 2019). She later claimed on Twitter that she was fired "Because Trump ridiculed my reputation, laughed at my looks, & dragged me through the mud". The magazine denies this is the case and claim the decision to end the column was unrelated.

Carroll has also accused former CEO of the CBS Corporation, Les Moonves, of sexual assault – something that he has denied. Twelve other women have also accused Moonves of similar wrongdoings, which he has also said are false.

As well as writing for ELLE, Carroll has contributed to the likes of Vanity Fair, Esquire and The Atlantic, and also worked as the first female contributing editor at Playboy.

Prior to the current battery lawsuit, Carroll attempted to sue Trump for defamation after he branded her a "liar" following the release of her memoir.

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