In a recent tweet, Charlie Savage of The New York Times reported on multiple developments in two lawsuits involving E. Jean Carroll and President Donald Trump. These lawsuits involve allegations of rape and defamation.
The first lawsuit was filed by Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations, claiming that he had never met Carroll or even heard of her before she made the accusations. In response to these claims, Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump.
The second lawsuit was brought by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in 2007. Like Carroll’s case, Trump denied the allegations and called them false and politically motivated. Zervos also sued for defamation after being called a liar by the president.
According to Savage’s tweet, there have been several new developments in both cases with his colleague Ben Weiser covering them for The New York Times. None were elaborated upon but it is likely that they relate to ongoing legal proceedings as neither case has yet gone to trial.
It is worth noting that these lawsuits are just part of a larger pattern of sexual misconduct allegations made against President Trump over the years. During his presidential campaign in 2016, numerous women came forward with stories about inappropriate behavior from him ranging from unwanted advances to sexual assault.
Despite facing multiple accusations from different women throughout his career as an entertainer and politician, none have resulted in criminal charges or convictions against him due to statute-of-limitations expirations or lack of evidence.
As these cases continue through legal channels such as depositions and discovery processes it remains unclear what further information may be revealed regarding these high-profile accusations against President Trump while he serves out his final days in office ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20th 2021.