Jury selection starts in author's rape case against Trump

Jurors are being selected Tuesday in the latest legal test of former President Donald Trump as he faces a lawsuit filed by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who is accusing him of raping her in the mid-1990s.

Trump has denied Carroll's allegations and repeatedly said, "She's not my type" and he never even met her. Carroll is seeking unspecified damages in federal civil court, which means the former president is not facing jail time.

Attorneys for Trump have indicated that he likely will not testify in the case, but Carroll is expected to take the stand to discuss her alleged encounter with Trump, according to The Associated Press.

Carroll claims that she met Trump in late 1995 or early 1996 at Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman, where he invited her to shop for lingerie and eventually raped her in a dressing room.

She first came forward with the allegations in 2019, and a New York law created a one-year window allowing adults to sue their alleged attackers even if the statute of limitations has expired. Carroll's attorneys had received funding from American Future Republic, a group funded by LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman. She said that the attorneys are relying on contingency fees only.

Two other women who claim to have been sexually assaulted by Trump are also expected to testify in Carroll's case.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.