UNDER OATH

Donald Trump and Anderson Cooper May Testify at E. Jean Carroll Rape Trial

E. Jean Carroll wants women harassed by Donald Trump to speak up. The former president wants jurors to hear about Carroll's book deal.

Former President Donald Trump has listed himself as a witness ready to testify at the upcoming trial where he’s accused of raping journalist E. Jean Carroll decades ago—and his lawyers want to question CNN host Anderson Cooper on the stand too. In court filings made late Thursday, attorneys on both sides identified who they plan to put on the stand at a civil trial in New York City scheduled for April. Carroll wants jurors to hear from several women who have publicly accused the former American president of sexual harassment, including a People Magazine writer and a saleswoman who claims the businessman groped her on a plane in the 1970s. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers want jurors to focus on how Carroll struck the publishing deals she made when first surfacing the claims, identifying witnesses from the book industry and Elle Magazine. According to a source familiar with Trump’s defense strategy, the former president’s team also wants to zero in on Carroll’s interview with Cooper where she said, "I think most people think of rape as being sexy. They think of the fantasies."

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Jose PaglieryPolitical Investigations Reporter

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