NEW YORK, Jan 17, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump went straight from his
victory in the Republican Iowa caucuses to a New York courtroom Tuesday for
the start of a defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll after an
earlier jury found he had sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.

In court, the former US president did not make any statements, and he and
Carroll avoided looking at each other while jurors were being selected,
according to reporters allowed inside the courtroom.

But Trump continued attacking Carroll on his Truth Social platform, reposting
a clip from an interview she gave to CNN and writing, "Can you believe I have
to defend myself against this woman's fake story?!"

The 77-year-old Republican White House frontrunner, seen leaving the
courthouse at about 3:00 pm, headed to the northeastern state of New
Hampshire, which will hold the nation's second presidential nomination
contest next Tuesday.

The shocking case, which would likely once have been enough to wreck any
politician's career, has had no visible impact on Trump's bid to retake the
White House -- and if anything is boosting his standing with his party's
right wing.

Carroll, 80, is seeking more than $10 million in damages in the civil trial,
alleging that Trump defamed her in 2019 when he was president and she had
just come out with her allegation, saying she "is not my type."

This is separate to a civil case last year where another New York jury found
Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a department store dressing
room in 1996 and subsequently defaming her in 2022, when he called her a
"complete con job."

In that case, the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.

This is only one of many trials swirling over Trump's head. He has been
indicted in four criminal cases and faces 91 counts on allegations including
his attempts to undermine the 2020 election which he lost to Joe Biden,
taking stacks of top secret documents, and business fraud.

Trump has embraced his legal problems as evidence of a conspiracy theory in
which a nebulous "deep state" is out to stop him from returning to power.

- 'Rape' finding -

Despite the constant scandal, his fervent base of supporters proved its
strength on Monday with an overwhelming victory in the Iowa caucuses to
choose the Republican candidate who will face Biden on Election Day in
November.

Trump has used previous trial appearances to seize the limelight and deliver
invective-filled speeches -- both outside courthouses and, when allowed to
speak by the judge, on the witness stand. He has also used social media posts
to issue crude insults against court personnel.

The judge in Tuesday's trial, Lewis Kaplan, has issued strict instructions to
curtail Trump.

Carroll says that in 1996, Trump assaulted her against the wall of a
Manhattan department store dressing room -- and the previous civil jury
agreed.

Kaplan stated unambiguously that Trump had "sexually abused -- indeed, raped
-- Ms. Carroll" and that the Republican cannot now claim otherwise in court.

Carroll's lawyers last week urged Kaplan to prevent Trump from making
"inadmissible, prejudicial" comments in court.

Last week, the former president continued to insist that he had "no idea" who
Carroll was, calling her "a wack job" and saying the trial was "rigged."