E. Jean Carroll still terrifies Trump

[marmar]

E. Jean Carroll still terrifies Trump
Justice Department efforts to rewrite history show #MeToo still matters

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published May 29, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) The smartest way for Donald Trump to deal with his E. Jean Carroll problem would be to accept defeat, pay her what he owes and never speak of her again. Both the media and the public seem, sadly, to have moved on after not one but two civil juries found in May 2023 and January 2024 that the retired journalist told the truth when she said Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the ’90s. Even though he has been accused of sexual abuse or harassment by more than two dozen women, a majority of voters either forgot or didn’t care enough about the allegations by the time the November 2024 election came around, instead voting him back into the White House. With this history, the politically wise move for the president would be to stop creating news hooks reminding everyone that his violent, misogynist rhetoric isn’t just a schtick, but a hateful ideology he’s inflicted on real women.

But Trump can’t let it go, and he has tied the 82-year-old Carroll up in appeals courts, where he continues to make shameful and dishonest accusations against a woman he has already been held liable for defaming and assaulting. He continues to insist she lied, even as he once veered very close to admitting he did it by falsely saying she enjoyed being assaulted. Now the Justice Department, which has grown even more flagrantly corrupt under the leadership of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — who served as Trump’s private lawyer during both of Carroll’s trials — has opened a criminal investigation into Carroll.

Even by the president’s sub-basement level standards, this move is grotesque. Beyond the damage he’s done as a politician, Trump has been credibly accused of victimizing countless people by taking their money, safety and dignity. But few have endured more psychological damage at Trump’s hands than Carroll, beginning with the alleged — and reportedly violent — dressing room encounter, which left her so traumatized she never had sex again. As she testified before two juries, Trump’s repeated public accusations that she lied and is a “whack job” were ruinous to her career and kept her in constant fear for her safety.

....(snip)....

The bad news is this backlash has been successful in many regards, turning abusers into victims in the public eye and painting those who take a stand against sexual violence as nags and scolds. But the fact that Trump and his allies feel the need to keep relitigating the Carroll case suggests the forces of misogyny aren’t as victorious as the mainstream narrative might suggest. Victims may not have the money or power that their abusers have, but they still have the truth, and even in our disinformation-addicted age, that can matter. Siccing the Justice Department on Carroll is not a sign of Trump’s strength, but of his inherent weakness. He is so eager to intimidate survivors that he’s willing to pay the price of reminding Americans that E. Jean Carroll — and the harrowing, compelling story she tells — exists. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/29/e-jean-carroll-still-terrifies-trump/

[FakeNoose]

1. If only ....

... on that fateful in 1995 when Chump attacked E. Jean Carroll in the Bergdorf dressing room, what if she had a small pistol in her purse? What if she carried it for protection in just such a situation? What if she pulled that weapon out and used it on him when she had the chance?

He would have received exactly what he deserved. No judge or jury would have convicted her, and our future lives would have been forever improved.