NEW YORK _ Writer E. Jean Carroll sued President Trump on Monday for defamation over her claim that he raped her 23 years ago in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman department store.
The advice columnist says Trump engaged in "malicious libel" by saying she was lying about the rape claim.
"I am filing this on behalf of every woman who has ever been harassed, assaulted, silenced, or spoken up only to be shamed, fired, ridiculed and belittled," Carroll said in a statement. "No person in this country should be above the law � including the president."
The suit in a state court in Manhattan demands unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The White House did not immediately comment.
Carroll came forward about the alleged rape last summer after keeping quiet for more than two decades. Trump claims he has never met Carroll even though a photo shows them together in the 1980s.
Trump also said the rape claim was outrageous because "she is not my type."
The writer, now 75, says in the suit that she was struck by Trump's "boyish good looks" when they ran into each other as he walked into the famed department store.
He stopped her and said, "Hey, you're that advice lady!" she says in the suit. "Hey, you're that real estate guy!" she replied.
Trump convinced Carroll to help him look for a present for a woman and settled on a bodysuit, which he insisted she try on for him.
He allegedly pushed her into a dressing room and raped her. Carroll says she told two friends about the alleged attack but never reported it to police. The statute of limitations has expired on the case.
A similar defamation case by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos is working its way through the legal system, raising the possibility that Trump will have to face depositions about the cases in the heat of the 2020 presidential race.
