Furious Trump shakes head in disgust as judge says he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll in dramatic $10 million civil defamation lawsuit

Donald Trump repeatedly shook his head in disgust as a New York judge told potential jurors in his defamation trial that he had sexually assaulted columnist E. Jean Carroll.

The former president, 77, sat in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday, just hours after his landslide victory in the Iowa Republican caucus.

Columnist Carroll's lawyers want Trump to pay $10 million in damages for calling her a liar after she claimed he raped her in a luxury department store dressing room in 1996.

A previous civil jury already found him liable for sexually assaulting her at Bergdorf's, a luxury department store in Manhattan, in 1996 after they had a chance meeting outside. Trump is on appeal.

On Tuesday, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba got into a dramatic argument in court with Judge Lewis Kaplan because she refused to postpone the trial. Potential jurors were asked a series of questions about their politics.

The judge asked the group of potential jurors if anyone felt that “Mr. Trump is being treated unfairly by the justice system in the United States.”

Three jurors stood and said they agreed with the statement.

Trump himself also raised his hand.

As the dramatic hearing began, Trump stood as potential jurors entered the court and watched as they took their seats.

Carroll stared at the floor and glanced at the judges.

Judge Kaplan told the jurors, “You have been summoned for possible jury duty in a civil case.

“This case is between a writer and advice columnist, E. Jean Carroll, and former President Donald J. Trump.”

The judge told potential jurors that it is “very important that you be candid” when answering questions to ensure impartiality.

He said the jurors would be anonymous and referred to them only by the number given to them by the court.

Those chosen to serve on the jury would be picked up at collection points and taken to the courthouse's underground garage.

Jurors are not allowed to reveal their real names, even to other jurors, and are not allowed to tell their families that they served on the case.

The reason was to “protect all of you from unwanted attention, harassment and invasion of your privacy,” the judge said.

Judge Kaplan gave the jury a summary of the case, saying that Carroll sued Trump over statements he made in June 2019 after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s.

Trump shook his head in denial.

Judge Kaplan said: “In statements released by Mr. Trump in 2019, Mr. Trump denied Ms. Carrol's accusation, stated that he had never met her and did not know who she was, and that she had told her story about Mr. Trump made up to help her sell. A new book.

“For reasons I will explain later, this lawsuit is limited to the issue of any monetary damages that Miss Carroll should receive for those publications.

“The reason is that the court determined in an earlier ruling that Mr. Trump is liable for defamation on those two occasions.

“It has been determined that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted Ms. Carroll, that he knew when he made statements about Ms. Carroll that the statements were false, and that he made them with reckless disregard for whether they were true or false.”

At this, Trump again shook his head in disagreement.

Judge Kaplan said Carroll claims she has suffered “reputational and professional harm.”

Judge Kaplan asked potential jurors if, after hearing the summary of the case, they could not be impartial. Three jurors raised their hands and were excused.

The potential jurors included a woman who did PR work for Trump's daughter Ivanka in 2017 and 2018, when she was an adviser.

When asked whether any jurors had worked for Trump, one man said he had been an officer in the US Navy, apparently referring to when he was president.

Three potential jurors raised their hands when asked if they had donated to Trump's political campaign or PAC.

Several said they had donated to campaigns for Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

A male juror confirmed that he had followed Trump on social media and attended a campaign rally for him.

That same man agreed when asked if he thought the “2020 election was stolen,” along with a female juror.

No one raised their hands when asked if they were members of extremist groups, including the QAnon movement, Antifa, the Communist Party of the United States and the Ku Klux Klan.

No potential jurors said they were a supporter of or belonged to the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers or the Boogaloo Boys, groups involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol that was encouraged by Trump.

No one raised their hands when asked if they used Truth Social, Trump's social media platform.

Judge Kaplan surveyed the room and said “a lot of hands” went up when he asked the jury if they had heard about Trump's four criminal cases.

One juror said this would make it difficult for them to be fair during the trial, and they were excused.

Several judges stood up when asked to indicate whether they had seen The Apprentice, the reality TV show he hosted, but none said this would hinder their ability to be impartial.

The other questions included whether jurors had strong feelings about the MeToo movement.