PanamaTimes

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

E. Jean Carroll attacks Trump lawyer for questioning why she didn't scream during alleged rape

E. Jean Carroll attacks Trump lawyer for questioning why she didn't scream during alleged rape

"I don't need an excuse for not screaming," E. Jean Carroll snapped when Trump's lawyer questioned her reaction.

E. Jean Carroll pushed back against questions from Donald Trump's lawyer in court Thursday when the attorney questioned why she didn't scream while the then-mogul allegedly raped her in the 1990s.

"I don't need an excuse for not screaming," Carroll said testily.

"Women who come forward — one of the reasons they don't come forward is because they're always asked, 'Why didn't you scream?' Carroll said in another part of her testimony Thursday afternoon in Manhattan federal court. "Some women scream. Some women don't. It keeps women silent."

Carroll's testimony, under cross-examination, comes in the civil trial for her lawsuit against Trump. Carroll accused him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman's department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, and defaming her when he called her a liar after she went public with her claims in 2019.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Carroll testified on the stand about the alleged incident. She said Trump recognized her while she was leaving Bergdorf Goodman's one night — she was a celebrated Elle magazine columnist and TV talk show host at the time — and asked for her advice to buy a gift for another woman.

Trump suggested the two go to the lingerie department on the sixth floor, where Carroll jokingly insisted that he try on a lacy bodysuit, Carroll said. As the two went into the dressing room, Trump pushed her against the wall and penetrated her with his finger and then his penis, Carroll testified.

"It was a horrible feeling because he curved his finger," Carroll said. "As I'm sitting here today, I can still feel it."

Carroll said she was laughing at the start of the incident, flirting before the situation became "dark."

E. Jean Carroll answers testifies during a civil trial to decide whether former U.S. President Donald Trump raped her and and defamed her by denying it happened.


As Trump repeatedly banged her head against the wall, Carroll said Thursday she believed she was still laughing as a "weapon" to "throw cold water over anything."

Joe Tacopina, one of Trump's attorneys in the case, asked Carroll why she didn't scream.

"I'm not a screamer," Carroll responded. "I was too much in a panic to scream — I was fighting."

Carroll said she pushed back against Trump, who she estimated weighed 100 more pounds than her, and eventually pushed him back with her knee. Tacopina repeatedly asked about different reasons why she didn't scream to draw attention during the struggle.

"I'm telling you he raped me, whether I screamed or not," Carroll snapped before starting to sob.

Tacopina continued to ask various questions about why she didn't scream — whether it was because of the adrenaline running through her, whether it was because she "didn't want to make a scene," or some other reason.

"You can't beat up on me for not screaming," Carroll said.

"I'm not beating up on you, Ms. Carroll," Tacopina responded.

Carroll said she wished she screamed because "more people would have believed me."

She also said she regrets bringing her lawsuit "about five times a day" because of the "constant stream" of online harassment she receives from Trump's supporters.

"It doesn't feel pleasant to be under threat," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
×