The penalty phase of Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll's civil suit against the former president begins this week, but Reid Hoffman, a prominent Democratic activist and mega-donor who has supported Nikki Haley's presidency, It's no surprise that he supports it. motion.
LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman heads to the morning session of the Allen & Company Media & Technology Conference on Friday, July 14, 2023 in Sun Valley, Idaho (David Paul Morris/ (via Bloomberg, Getty)
Carroll has accused Trump of molesting and raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s, but as Breitbart News reported in April, Trump has not been criminally charged.
Rather, Carroll is seeking monetary damages and a retraction of Trump's previous statements. She first came forward with the allegations in 2019 while promoting her book, which focused on the “ugly men” in her own life. Titled “What Do You Need a Man for?'' She claims to have been sexually assaulted more than a dozen times throughout her life, and the Adult Survivors Act went into effect, effectively ending the statute of limitations for the case. The lawsuit was later filed in November. Notably, she also sued Trump for defamation in 2019.
President Trump has stood by his own statements, labeling Carroll's accusations as “the work of a complete fraudster” and sharing various of Carroll's controversial social media posts over the past few weeks, calling out the hypocrisy of his accusers. has been exposed.
“How do you know that your 'unwanted sexual advances' are unwanted until you confess them?” reads a 2015 post shared by Trump.
“Sex tips I learned from my dogs: When he's in heat, chase him until he gets tired and collapses… then jump off!” Another article says:
Nevertheless, in September, U.S. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that President Trump had defamed Trump when he denied raping her in 2019. Carroll could not remember the year of her alleged assault, and there were no witnesses to corroborate her claims. However, Kaplan deemed Trump's comments defamatory because the jury found him liable for the sexual assault and defamation of Carroll. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages. But the second lawsuit stems from comments President Trump made in 2019.
RELATED — E. Jean Carroll attorney Kaplan considers options to sue Trump again for CNN town hall comment
It's no surprise that Carroll's supporters are known Democratic activists, one of whom led the feminist “Time's Up” movement. Additionally, Judge Kaplan has close ties to one of Carroll's attorneys, Sean Crowley.
Breitbart News details:
In fact, one of Carroll's lawyers is Roberta Kaplan, a Democratic activist who led the group Time's Up. She left the activist organization after it was revealed that she was supporting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an effort to discredit his Democratic accusers. This was a great irony as Time's Up seeks to protect women from what it claims is discrimination and harassment. This fact has fueled speculation that Mr. Kaplan only becomes involved in cases he deems politically expedient.
Additionally, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan is overseeing the process and has ties to Carroll's other attorney, Sean Crowley. She was actually Judge Kaplan's law clerk, and he officiated at her wedding.
That aside, Trump denies knowing the left-wing activist, as the only evidence of contact is a single photo of Trump and Carol greeting ex-wife Ivana in the greeting line at an event more than 35 years ago. are doing. Carroll has yet to provide hard evidence of the alleged encounter and will not use the dress she claims has DNA from the incident on it. Even President Trump has publicly stated that the dress should also be part of the incident. Additionally, there were no witnesses to the incident, which allegedly occurred at a popular New York City department store.
Additionally, Carroll has the backing of LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic mega-donor Reid Hoffman. Said In March 2023, he said, “Spend as much money as you can, it's necessary and it's effective.” [to beat Trump]” of new york times report He claims he helped pay Carroll's legal costs, and he admits that fact.
The billionaire, who admitted to visiting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private island, also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Stand for America PAC, which is supporting Ms. Haley in the Republican primary. .
“So why Nikki Haley? Because obviously Governor Haley is also the only Republican candidate other than Mr. Trump who has a chance of winning the Republican nomination,” Hoffman wrote, adding that he is not sure what his next decision will be. explained. return Haley.
He continued:
As we fight to protect American ideals from the threat of Trumpism, we must engage with those with whom we disagree on many areas of policy and culture. Nikki Haley will not be as good for America as Joe Biden, but America will survive her administration.
Furthermore, Dmitri Melhorn, Mr. Hoffman's chief political adviser, openly acknowledged that their goal was “to weaken the political power of the anti-American Trump MAGA movement.”
But that goal did not materialize as Trump won a historic victory in the Iowa caucuses, ironically the same week that the penalty phase of the anti-Trump trial begins.
Trump's damages will be decided in this week's trial.according to NBC News“Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, said in her opening statement yesterday that Carroll was not harmed by Trump's comments and was instead trying to gain fame and status and further her career in litigation. ” he said.
Trump appeared in court on Tuesday, a day after his historic victory in Iowa. Carroll is scheduled to testify Wednesday.
Former President Donald Trump leaves his apartment in New York on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Trump is scheduled to attend the penalty phase of a New York civil libel trial stemming from a columnist's claim that he sexually assaulted her in a department store fitting room. 1990s. (Seth Wenig/Associated Press)
