E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump (l-r: AP Photos by Seth Wenig and Evan Vucci)
As E. Jean Carroll’s case draws toward a close, Donald Trump’s attorney confirmed on Wednesday that the former president will not present a defense case. There were only two potential witnesses on the former president’s list: an expert witness and Trump himself.
Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina confirmed on Tuesday that his client would not take the stand.
The other would-be witness, Texas-based psychiatrist Edgar P. Nace, fell ill, though the details were not specified in the public record. Tacopina confirmed to Senior U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan that Nace will not be able to appear inside federal court in New York by Thursday when Carroll’s case is expected to rest.
If he testified, Nace would have been expected to try to counter the testimony offered by Carroll’s expert Leslie Lebowitz, a clinical psychologist who has been on the witness stand for the past two days. She told a jury that Carroll has suffered from the effects of trauma for decades, but her symptoms do not rise to the level of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Over three days, Carroll offered graphic and wrenching testimony about Trump allegedly raping her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. She also spoke openly and candidly about elements of her beliefs and behavior that she acknowledged might strike others as “odd.”
For example, Carroll says she never screamed after Trump allegedly threw her against the wall, pulled down her tights, and penetrated her with his fingers and his penis, according to her testimony. Lebowitz told jurors that experience is more common than uncommon for rape survivors.
Citing studies and her 40 years of clinical practice, Lebowitz said of screaming: “It’s one of the least likely things to actually occur.”
Of course, Lebowitz added, screaming can be an effective defense mechanism to deter an alleged attacker.
“Sure, some people scream,” Lebowitz noted. “It’s a good idea.”
Trump’s attorney have also questioned Carroll’s self-described “MASSIVE” fandom for “The Apprentice,” the show the former president famously hosted. Carroll herself did not qualify or back down from that during her testimony, gushing: “I had never seen such a witty competition on television.”
“It was about something that was worthwhile, about business plans and business people, ambitious young business people competing to win a job,” Carroll testified on Monday. “The part where who he fired at the end, I didn’t watch that part. I loved the competitions.”
Lebowitz said that Carroll’s testimony isn’t inconsistent with allegedly having been raped by the host.
Part of the reason why, Lebowitz said, has to do with understanding Carroll’s personality.
“She’s exuberant,” the witness noted.
Lebowitz said that part of Carroll’s reasons for watching the show were professional. In addition to being the face of the “Ask E. Jean” advice column, she also had a television show on the short-lived cable network “America’s Talking.” The clinical psychologist opined that Carroll likely wouldn’t want to set herself apart from her peer group by missing out on the TV hit.
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