E. Jean Carroll Testifies Trump Critic Conway Encouraged Her Lawsuit

(Bloomberg) -- The New York author who claims Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s testified at the trial of her civil lawsuit that one of the former president’s most outspoken critics played a key role in her decision to sue.

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During questioning by Trump’s lawyer, E. Jean Carroll told jurors on Monday that she decided to take legal action within days of being encouraged to do so at a party by George Conway, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a conservative super PAC that opposed Trump’s 2020 re-election bid. He’s also the husband of former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway.

Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist who went public with her claim about Trump in 2019, is testifying for the third day of the trial before a jury of six men and three women. Trump denies wrongdoing and argues the case is part of a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

Read More: Trump Protests Democratic Donor Backing Rape-Accuser’s Suit

Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina played a portion of Carroll’s videotaped deposition from October in which she recalled how people frequently asked her in the months after she went public with her allegation if she planned to sue Trump. Her reply was always “no, no, no,” she said.

It wasn’t until she spoke to Conway, a lawyer “who knew the ins and outs,” that she decided to consider suing Trump, Carroll testified.

“Before that, you had no intention of suing Donald Trump, as we just heard,” Tacopina said.

Carroll agreed. She also confirmed under questioning by Tacopina that two days after talking with Conway she met with a lawyer he’d recommended, and that she was aware at the time of Conway’s political views.

Carroll sued Trump for defamation in 2019 after he accused her of fabricating the attack to sell a book. She sued him again in November under a New York law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on civil sexual-assault claims. The latter case is the one now on trial.

Carroll, asked by Tacopina why she didn’t call the police to report the alleged rape, said there is nothing unusual about women her age not calling the police.

“Mr. Tacopina, I was born in 1943 — I am a part of the silent generation,” Carroll said. “Women like me were told to keep our head’s up — not call the police. The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for someone of my age.”

Carroll was also asked about her decision to not use the word “rape” to describe the assault in her 2019 book, where she referred to it as an “incident.”

She said that in her mind, she considered her encounter with Trump a fight rather than a rape because she had to physically get him off of her. “I’m very careful in using the word,” she said. “I liked the word ‘fight’ because it gave me action.”

Carroll was also asked to explain a 2012 post on Facebook in which she said she was a “MASSIVE” fan of Trump’s reality-TV show, The Apprentice, suggesting it was unusual for her to watch a show hosted by her alleged attacker. She defended her opinion of the show by saying she’d “never seen such a witty competition on television” and that she never watched the part of the show where Trump “fired” a contestant.

Read More: Trump Is Denied Mistrial Over ‘Unfair’ Rulings in Carroll Case

Carroll’s lawyers will introduce a new witness tomorrow, likely one of two women — best-selling writer Lisa Birnbach or her friend former television newscaster Carol Martin — who will testify that Carroll confided in them about the alleged rape shortly after it happened. Other witnesses in the five-to-10 day trial will include two other women who have accused Trump of sexual assault.

The case is E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump, 22-cv-10016, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

(Updates with possible witnesses on Tuesday.)

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