In a Manhattan courtroom, former President Donald Trump faced one of his prominent accusers, E. Jean Carroll, as they both attended oral arguments for his appeal of a $5 million jury verdict from the previous year. This verdict held Trump accountable for sexual abuse and defamation towards Carroll, stemming from allegations that he assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and subsequently dismissed her claims as false.
During the proceedings, a panel of three federal judges from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals displayed doubt regarding Trump's efforts to reverse the verdict. Despite Trump walking just feet away from Carroll in the courtroom, he did not acknowledge her presence, and his demeanor remained expressionless throughout the approximately 20-minute argument session. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, reiterated the accusation of sexual assault against Trump, to which he barely reacted by shaking his head.
The focus of the appeals court's discussion centered around the admissibility of testimony from another accuser, Jessica Leeds, who claimed Trump had groped her on an airplane in 1979. Additionally, the court debated the significance of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape from 2005, in which Trump boasted about sexually assaulting women. Trump's attorney, D. John Sauer, characterized the case as a classic "he said, she said" scenario and accused Carroll of having a political agenda to damage Trump's reputation. In response, Kaplan argued for the legitimacy of Leeds' testimony, citing existing laws against assault on airplanes when the alleged incident took place in 1979.
Judge Denny Chin engaged in a back-and-forth with Trump's attorney over the interpretation of the "Access Hollywood" tape, with Sauer disputing its relevance as a confession. The panel of judges presiding over Trump's appeal consists of three judges appointed by Democratic presidents, raising further intrigue around the case. As Trump exited the courtroom, he opted to remain silent when questioned about his satisfaction with the legal proceedings.