Donald Trump may face an anonymous jury in rape defamation suit

An anonymous jury may hear writer E. Jean Carroll's upcoming rape defamation suit against Donald Trump, a judge in the case indicated Saturday.

Carroll, a former columnist for Elle magazine, has accused Trump of raping her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the late 1990s. She sued him for defamation after he derided her claims, said she was not his "type," and that her accusation was politically motivated.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan issued an order Saturday asking Trump and Carroll to respond by March 17 if either side has any objections to using an anonymous jury, Bloomberg reported. Kaplan didn't explain why he might opt for an anonymous jury. But jurors could be targets of threats in the politically charged case. Anonymous juries have been used in the past to protect jurors' safety in cases involving organized crimes and terrorists.

Kaplan ruled Friday that Trump's controversial hot-mic comments to an Access Hollywood host in 2005 will be allowed at the trial. Trump boasted then about "grabbing" women without their consent, saying he could get away with it because he was famous.

Neither Carroll's nor Trump's attorney could immediately be reached for comment.

The trial is scheduled for April 10.

Carroll initially sued Trump for defamation in 2019. Late last year, Carroll filed an upgraded suit against Trump under the new Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily lifts the statute of limitations for a year on civil claims over alleged sexual offenses.