Donald Trump rape accuser E Jean Carroll takes the stand

A erstwhile columnist suing Donald Trump implicit an alleged rape astir 30 years agone has testified she launched the lawsuit "to effort and get my beingness back".

E Jean Carroll told the New York civilian rape and defamation proceedings she had been incapable to person a romanticist beingness since the alleged assault.

Ms Carroll claims Mr Trump accosted her successful a Manhattan section store successful 1996.

He has consistently denied her accusations arsenic "fiction".

"I'm present due to the fact that Donald Trump raped me, and erstwhile I wrote astir it, helium lied and said it didn't happen," Ms Carroll told a Manhattan national tribunal connected Wednesday. "He lied and shattered my reputation, and I'm present to effort and get my beingness back."

Ms Carroll, a erstwhile proposal columnist for Elle magazine, testified that the brushwood with Mr Trump initially began with flirtatious banter aft helium approached her astatine the Bergdorf Goodman store and asked if she would assistance him bargain a acquisition for a friend.

She said the banter rapidly took a crook erstwhile Mr Trump asked her to effort connected a portion of lingerie and followed her into a dressing room.

Once inside, she claimed, helium closed the door, held her against the partition and raped her.

"As I'm sitting present contiguous I tin inactive consciousness it," she told the court.

She tried to propulsion Mr Trump off, saying it was wide she didn't privation it to happen, she said. The "extremely painful" brushwood was implicit wrong minutes, she said, and she rapidly near the section store and aboriginal called a friend.

In the years since, Ms Carroll said she has felt blameworthy astir her determination to participate the dressing room.

Mr Trump, who is moving successful the 2024 statesmanlike election, has repeatedly denied her allegations.

On Wednesday, connected a bid of posts connected his societal media website, helium called helium relationship a "fraudulent and mendacious story" and called it into question.

"She didn't scream? There are nary witnesses? Nobody saw this?" helium wrote.

Mr Trump's station was brought to the attraction of US District Judge Lewis Kaplan earlier witnesses took the stand.

The justice admonished Mr Trump's ineligible squad for their client's behaviour and said the station was "a nationalist connection that, connected the look of it, seems wholly inappropriate".

Mr Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told the justice helium would inquire his lawsuit to "refrain from immoderate further posts connected this case".

As of Wednesday it was not instantly wide if the erstwhile president planned to look successful tribunal successful the case, which is expected to past 2 weeks.

Ms Carroll, 79, is seeking unspecified damages from Mr Trump, 76.

In 2022, New York passed the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed a one-year play for victims to record intersexual battle lawsuits successful the authorities implicit claims that would person different exceeded statute limitations.