Trump convicted, abused and vilified Jean Carroll

First, embarrassing sentence against Donald Trump, who sees his new race for the White House compromised. After a few hours of deliberation, the jury of a civil trial underway in New York found him guilty not of a real rape but of a sexual assault against the writer Jean Carroll in the dressing rooms of a department store in the Big Apple in 1996. And to have then defamed her with a post on his social Truth in October 2022 in which he called the woman's accusations a "farce", a "fraud": a line maintained by the defense throughout the hearings. The tycoon was then sentenced to a total compensation of 5 million dollars. On Wednesday night he will have to defend himself in his first public outing after the sentence, in a CNN debate. This closes after two weeks a process that will make history, even of the #Metoo movement, and that will leave an indelible stain on the image of the former president and his relations with women, undermining his consents in the female electorate.

And it will be worth little the rescue in extremis of Melania, who a few hours before the verdict had given an interview to Fox News to reiterate her support for her husband's re-candidacy and her confidence in another victory to lead America again "towards greatness and prosperity". The trial kept the country glued to television, especially when Carroll testified in court recounting the vivid details of the episode and his feelings of guilt. "I'm here because Donald Trump raped me," he began, summing up a suffering that lasted 30 years and was confirmed by some friends.

"When I wrote about the violence, he denied it. He lied and destroyed my reputation. I'm here to take my life back," explained the journalist and columnist, now 79, arriving at the court with her gaze hidden by large black glasses. Carroll, then a journalist for Elle magazine, accused the tycoon of raping her in 1996 in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store after the two met at a party and he asked her for suggestions for a gift. "It was a horrible feeling. He put his hand inside me and turned his finger," she said, revealing details of the violence and confessing that she was still haunted by the memory of Trump abusing her in the dressing room. Carroll also explained why he had never denounced the former president before 2019. "I was ashamed, I thought it was my fault," she said, her voice choked with tears. The terrifying experience "marked her forever" and she never managed to have a love affair again. In the courtroom she also had to justify herself for not screaming ("I was petrified with fear"). The jury did not believe the rape version but had no doubts about the sexual assault. Trump never appeared at the trial, limiting himself to a private deposition then shown to jurors in which he ended up testifying against himself: first stating that Carroll was not his "type", only to confuse her with his ex-wife Marla Maples, then confirming what was said in an infamous audio, namely that when one is a star like him he can kiss or take women by their genital organ with impunity.