The testimony of a third woman who accused Donald Trump of sexual assault in the former president's civil rape and defamation case has been praised by legal experts as the defense team only asked her one question in response.
Journalist Natasha Stoynoff told the jury at the Manhattan federal court on Wednesday how Trump allegedly assaulted her at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in December 2005 when she was assigned by People magazine to interview the Republican about his one-year anniversary to his third wife, Melania Trump.
Stoynoff was called to testify as part of E. Jean Carroll's sexual battery lawsuit against the former president. Carroll also accuses Trump of defaming her character while denying accusations he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in New York in the mid-1990s, including repeatedly stating that she's "not my type." The former president, who has not been present at the trial, has denied any wrongdoing.
Carroll's lawyers called on Stoynoff to testify to suggest to the jury that there is a pattern of behavior from Trump and that the alleged assault on Stoynoff was similar to the attack on Carroll. Retired businesswoman Jessica Leeds also took the witness stand next as part of the civil trial to accuse Trump of groping her and trying to put his hand up her skirt during a flight in the late 1970s.
Stoynoff, a Canadian citizen who used an old family name for her writing career, said that Trump, after pushing her against a wall at the Palm Beach resort, forcibly kissed her.
"I hear the door shut behind me. And by the time I turn around, he has his hands on my shoulders and he pushes me against the wall and starts kissing me, holding me against the wall," Stoynoff said.
"He was against me and just holding my shoulders back," she added. "I didn't say words. I couldn't. I tried. I mean, I was just flustered and sort of shocked and I—no words came out of me. I tried, though. I remember just sort of mumbling."
Stoynoff said Trump only pulled back when a butler came into the room to report that Melania was ready for the next phase of the interview.
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Stoynoff told the jury that, just like Leeds, she only went public with the allegations after the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be heard boasting about grabbing women "by the p****," was released just ahead of the 2016 election.
"I actually for the first time thought to myself, 'Oh, he does this to a lot of women. It's not just me. It's not just something I did,'" Stoynoff said.
"And then the horrifying part to me was that I worried—I worried that because I didn't say anything at the time, other women were hurt by him."
During cross-examination, Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina put forward one question to Stoynoff. He asked whether she was involved in any litigation against Trump. She replied no. The former president's lawyer appeared to suggest to the jury that as she did not go to police or file a lawsuit herself over the alleged incident, it may not have occurred and that her testimony was not relevant to Carroll's case.
Tacopina had previously questioned Carroll's version of events by asking why she did not scream at the time of the alleged assault in the department store and waited 17 years to come forward. A psychologist testifying on Carroll's behalf said on Wednesday that it was common for rape victims not to report the incident, or blame themselves for the attack.
In a tweet, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman said that Stoynoff's testimony was so "compelling and repugnant" that Tacopina had to "punt on cross-examination."
"And no allegation she's in cahoots w/ Carroll. In some ways, most searing story of all, complete w/ Butler coming in as if nothing's happening," he wrote.
In a series of tweets, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin also suggested that Stoynoff's testimony was so "powerful" that Tacopina only asked one question in an attempt to show the jury that "her story may be compelling, but it's largely irrelevant.
"Except they know how significant it really is; it helps demonstrate that what happened to Carroll is just a piece of a pattern that spans decades," Rubin added.
"In fact, that's why they repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) have asked to exclude her testimony. They even argued that because Trump was interrupted as he forcibly kissed her, Stoynoff was not the victim of an attempted assault—and therefore, her testimony is inadmissible.
"If a former American president is held liable for assaulting and defaming a quintessentially American woman, mark my words: An indefatigable Canadian will be one key reason why."
Legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Joyce Alene also questioned Tacopina's tactics against Stoynoff, Leeds and Carroll, as he seemed to suggest to the jury that "women who testify under oath Trump assaulted them are making it up if they don't scream, call the police, and here [with Stoynoff], file a lawsuit.
"Unless there's a real problem on the jury, this is offensive & unpersuasive," Alene tweeted.
Trump has not been present at the civil trial, but the jury have been played his recorded deposition from October in which he denies raping Carroll. The former president has also publicly denied assaulting Leeds and Stoynoff in the past.
"It's the most ridiculous, disgusting story," Trump said in the video about Carroll's accusations. "It's made up."
Tacopina confirmed to the Judge Lewis Kaplan that the defense would not call any witnesses as part of the civil case against Trump.
Kaplan said closing arguments would likely take place on Monday, May 8, before the jury begins deliberations on Tuesday.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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