"In effect, the case is over": Legal experts say Carroll's testimony was emotional "home run"

Legal experts say the jury has likely already made up its mind on E. Jean Carroll's rape and defamation allegations against former President Donald Trump after her emotional testimony this week.

Carroll, who has alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman store in either 1995 or 1996, was the second witness to appear on the stand on Wednesday and Thursday.

"I'm here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn't happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I'm here to try and get my life back," Carroll said.

Former federal prosecutor Faith Gay told Salon that Carroll had to answer the single most important question on every juror's mind: why is a three-minute-long incident that happened 30 years ago a federal case – other than the fact that the former president is the defendant?

"Carroll's answer was the emotional equivalent of a home run," said Gay, a founding partner at Selendy Gay Elsberg. "When Trump raped Carroll 30 years ago, he changed her life forever. She never had an intimate personal relationship again. A huge part of her died as a result of Trump's acts."

Gay added that Carroll spent four hours on the stand and testified in brutal detail about how "power and aggression" by Trump "violently reshaped her life." The jury went home with a story that they will never forget.

After the writer came forward with the allegations in 2019, Trump "lied and shattered" her reputation, Carroll said.

Trump has repeatedly denied the incident and said things like Carroll is "not my type." His denials have caused her further torment, she has said. 

"She was the first major witness called in the case," Gay said. "The jury will now either accept her story or not – no matter what happens going forward. So, in effect, the case is over."

Carroll sued the former president for battery and defamation last year.

"I'm trying to get my life back," Carroll said in her testimony at the civil trial in federal court in lower Manhattan.

The alleged assault took place nearly three decades ago when Carroll worked at the upscale Manhattan department store and Trump was married to model Marla Maples. 

At the time, she was an advice columnist with a cable news TV show while Trump was a real estate magnate and social figure in New York. They were both public figures who ran in similar media circles, Carroll said. 

Trump first approached her seeking advice on what to buy for someone as a present, Carroll said during her testimony. After browsing through the handbag and hat sections, Trump proposed they head to the lingerie section on the sixth floor.

"He was very talkative on the escalator and said he was thinking of buying Bergdorf," Carroll said. "I was thinking, 'I have a great story,' and I was delighted to go to lingerie" with him. 

Carroll said Trump gestured her toward a dressing room, then shut the door and pushed her against the wall, and sexually assaulted her. She broke down in tears as she recalled the incident.

"I couldn't see anything was happening, but I could certainly feel that pain," Carroll said.

The attack was brief, and she left the store immediately after it happened, calling a friend to tell her about it.

The sexual assault left her permanently shaken by the attack and "unable to ever have a romantic life again," Carroll said during her testimony, adding she felt guilt over flirting with Trump before the attack. 

For decades, she didn't tell anyone except for two friends because she was afraid Trump would retaliate, because she thought it was her fault, she said.

Her testimony lasted about three and a half hours. Carroll took the stand again Thursday and continued her testimony.

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"From what I could tell, the testimony was very powerful, detailed, sometimes harrowing, but related in a calm and reflective manner," former federal prosecutor Kevin O'Brien told Salon. "Carroll was particularly articulate about the impact on her life -- not just her physical person -- of the alleged rape, especially her inability to enter into intimate relationships since."

He added Carroll also took the edge off some anticipated cross-examination by explaining her initial reluctance to come forward and criticizing her own judgment for putting herself in a vulnerable position and allowing herself to be charmed by Trump.  

"Carroll was very well prepared for her chance, as she put it, to tell her side of the story," O'Brien said.

Trump has still maintained that Carroll's claim is utter fiction. Referring to the case as "a made-up scam," Trump took to Truth Social to attack Carroll's credibility. 

"This is a fraudulent & false story — Witch Hunt!" Trump wrote, adding that Carroll's lawyer is "a political operative, financed by a big political donor."

The judge cautioned Trump's legal team that their client's remarks could potentially result in additional legal issues.

Carroll's legal team for the most part has remained "laser-focused on the facts" even though the event happened decades ago while Trump's lawyer has "focused on disparaging Carroll," Gay said.

"Judge Kaplan runs a tight, rules-based courtroom, and while he will allow evidence of Carroll's motive, he will not permit the jurors to base their verdict on innuendo," Gay said. "Whoever has the evidence, and is credible in presenting it, will win in this particular courtroom. Right now, that is looking like Carroll – especially if her story is backed up by similar conduct testimony by two other women and the Access Hollywood tape that shows Trump bragging about groping women."

The jury will also see the infamous tape, in which Trump explicitly detailed how he groped women and later defended his language, saying it was "locker room talk."

Whether Trump will testify during the trial still remains an open question, Gay said. But if he does show up, "he'll have to explain the Access Hollywood tape, explain why he confused Carroll for his wife, and admit that he has disparaged Carroll time and time again."