NEW YORK _ Lawyers for a renowned author who accuses President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s told a Manhattan judge Wednesday that if Trump can file defamation lawsuits as president, he also must respond to them as a defendant.
Trump's lawyers have argued that while he's in the Oval Office, he is immune from personal litigation or criminal charges of any kind _ even if his alleged transgressions predate his time in office.
However, on Feb. 26, Trump's reelection campaign sued New York Times Co. for "intentionally publishing false statements against President Trump's campaign" and Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
Lawyers for author E. Jean Carroll say if Trump can sue the Times, Carroll should be allowed to pursue her case in Manhattan Supreme Court.
"The president shouldn't be able to pick and choose which cases he wants to do while president, which cases he doesn't want to do," Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, told reporters after the court hearing.
"We understand why he doesn't want to do this case, but that's not a reasonable legal argument," Kaplan said.
Carroll, 75, came forward with rape accusations against Trump in June 2019. She sued Trump in November 2019 after he publicly accused her of lying.
She accuses Trump of raping her in late 1995 or early 1996 inside a dressing room at the upscale Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan. Carroll claimed the then-real estate magnate knocked her head against a wall, pulled down her tights and briefly penetrated her before Carroll managed to push him off and make a run for it.
Stating that Carroll was "not my type," Trump said the longtime Elle magazine columnist fabricated the assault to boost sales of her book, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal."
Outside the courthouse Wednesday, Carroll said she filed the lawsuit for "every woman in America who's been grabbed, groped, harassed, sexually assaulted (and) has spoken up."
