Former President Donald Trump appeared at a courthouse in Manhattan on Friday to listen in on oral arguments over his appeal in the first civil case brought by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Trump and Carroll were both present for the arguments, which lasted less than 25 minutes and examined Trump’s concerns with the trial, which took place last year. A jury found at the end of it that Trump was liable for sexual assault and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million.
Former Missouri Solicitor General John Sauer, who has handled appellate matters for Trump, argued before the 2nd U.S. Circuit of Appeals on behalf of the former president, calling the case a “quintessential he-said-she-said.”
Sauer said the case had been improperly bolstered by “propensity evidence,” which is evidence used to demonstrate a person’s character and is typically not allowed in court.
“There is no physical evidence, no eyewitnesses, no DNA, no video, no complaint, no police report, no investigation,” Sauer said.
The judges appeared skeptical of Sauer’s arguments, telling him the appellate court gives “great deference” to the lower court on evidentiary concerns.
Prominent liberal lawyer Roberta Kaplan argued on Carroll’s behalf, saying the rules of evidence applied in the case were “routine.”
Carroll brought the lawsuit after alleging in a memoir in 2019 that Trump raped her three decades ago during a minutes-long encounter at a department store in Manhattan. Trump excoriated Carroll in the months that ensued, saying he never met her and that she was not his “type.”
“She is trying to sell a new book — that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section,” Trump said in a statement at the time.
Trump’s repeated criticism of Carroll led the women’s author to bring a second lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of defaming her. Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in favor of Carroll in that case, and in January, a jury awarded her $83 million in response to Kaplan’s decision.
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Trump spoke at a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City after the oral arguments, reiterating that he had “no idea” who Carroll was and commending Sauer for his performance during the brief oral arguments.
“I think John did a very good job,” Trump said. “You have a matter of minutes to speak. It’s a very complex thing because it was a setup, a rigged deal.”
