Welcome To The (First) Trial of Donald John Trump
From our friends at The Guardian:
Donald Trump won’t be there to see it, but the former US president’s deeply tarnished reputation may be about to take another serious hit as a New York jury decides whether he is a rapist.
E Jean Carroll, a former advice columnist and author, will finally get her day in court this week, nearly three decades after she alleges that Trump pinned her against the wall of a New York department store and sexually assaulted her.
Carroll is suing Trump for damages under a recent New York state law opening a one-year window for adult victims of sexual assault to file civil cases after the statute of limitations has expired. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in a Manhattan court on Tuesday.
The trial comes as Trump already faces criminal fraud charges over the payment of hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels, and the prospect of looming federal and state prosecutions over attempts to fix the 2020 election, the January 6 storming of the Capitol and the hoarding of classified documents.
But Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said the case stands out even amid Trump’s myriad legal problems because it revives memories some of his most egregious behavior as he once again runs for president.
“One of the things that happened because of Trump’s election in 2016 was this collective outrage from women across the country for a whole host of reasons, but in many ways encapsulated by that video of him talking about grabbing women by their genitalia. There was this moment for many women who thought it would not be possible for someone caught saying that to ever become president of the United States. And then he was,” she said.
“This case brings all that up and in some ways adds to that outrage that women feel about him. He has been accused of this kind of behaviour so many times and he’s never been held accountable. This time it seems like he may in fact be held accountable.”
This case will not make or break Trump's nomination. It will not disqualify him for running for higher office. Hell, it probably won't lose him a single supporter with his MAGA base.
But what this case will do is reignite those same horrific reactions many of us felt in 2016 when the Access Hollywood tapes were released. The revulsion and disdain we felt for a man openly bragging about sexual assault. How bewildering it could be that the entire GOP would not disown or disavow this man because it became clear that a Trump presidency would supersede any and all talk about this being the party of family values. How astonishing it was that a three-time (at least) adulterer would proudly carry his party's banner in the 2016 general election. And how damning it was that the GOP would prove its complicity by remaining silent in the face of admitted sexual violence against women.
The scars of these revelations may have been dormant these past six years but they remain, especially for women. Republican women are too far down the rabbit hole to abandon Trump but there exists a large contingent of independent women voters still traumatized by these revelations. It was their utter revulsion of Trump and what he stood for that led to the Women's March shortly after his inauguration. For them, it was personal. Many of them had experience with someone exerting his power over them in a sexual way and being able to get away with it. For them, Trump represented the evils associated with toxic masculinity and the culture of rich, affluent White men being able to subject themselves onto women as they pleased. Having this man now occupy the highest office in the land was a slap in the face to millions of independent and Democratic women in this country.
Donald Trump won't take the stand. He is too much of a loose cannon to ever be subjected to cross-examination. But the courageous E. Jean Carroll will. Like Christine Blasey Ford, Carroll will go down in history as a remarkable woman willing to confront one of the most powerful men in the country about his past alleged sexual abuse. She will tell the truth and will not be silenced. Hearing her story will once again reignite all those feelings women and allies experienced in the wake of the Access Hollywood scandal. This case will not lose Donald Trump the 2024 election, but it sure as hell won't help him among independent women.
And that is why this trial and E. Jean Carroll's bravery matter.
Her story represents a pattern in the life of Donald John Trump. Of a world with zero consequences where he can force himself on unwilling women. Of a world where he can pay off those with whom he has had affairs. Of a world where women are seen as objects and nothing more. Of a world where rich, powerful men can do as they please.
This was Donald Trump's life for 50 years. But now the tables have turned. E. Jean Carroll can speak her truth, free of repercussions. She won't have to worry about an army of Trump lawyers or, worse, his thugs going after her. This is her time to tell the world what she experienced. Like far too many rape victims, justice has been delayed because of the power and standing of the man accused. Today's trial will not bring closure to the nearly two dozen women who have similarly accused Donald Trump of sexual assault. Their lives have been irrevocably scarred by this man. Yet, for the first time what we have is a jury of his peers hearing about and ultimately deciding the fate of Donald John Trump's lifetime of crime and violence against women.
That alone is a victory in itself.