In mid-2019, writer E. Jean Carroll accused then-U.S.-president Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations. In November 2019, Carroll sued Trump in New York Supreme Court for defamation. In September 2020, U.S. Justice Department lawyers asserted that Trump had acted in his official capacity while responding to Carroll's accusation. In November 2022, Carroll expanded her claim to battery and filed a second lawsuit against Trump under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that allows sexual-assault victims to file civil suits beyond expired statutes of limitations. The trial was scheduled for April 25, 2023, with uncertainty remaining about whether the two related suits will be combined. Potential evidence in the case includes statements from witnesses Carroll reputedly told about the alleged incident, unidentified male DNA detected on a dress Carroll said she was wearing, and a photograph of her with Trump in 1987. Background On June 21, 2019, prior to the release of her book What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal (and during the Trump administration), E. Jean Carroll wrote in New York magazine that Donald Trump had sexually assaulted her in late 1995 or early 1996 in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City. Her book contains details of the alleged incident. Carroll said that on her way out of the store she ran into Trump and he asked for help buying a gift for a woman. After suggesting a handbag or a hat, the two reputedly moved on to the lingerie section and joked about the other trying some on. Carroll said they ended up a dressing room together, the door of which was shut, and Trump forcefully kissed her, pulled down her tights and raped her before she was able to escape. She stated that the alleged incident lasted less than three minutes. Lisa Birnbach and Carol Martin told New York magazine that Carroll had confided with them after the alleged assault. In an official government statement, Trump said that he had "never met [Carroll] in my life", accused her of trying to sell books and implied she had a political agenda, compared the accusation to one against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and said Bergdorf Goodman had confirmed they had no surveillance footage of the alleged incident. Trump further called on the public to provide information indicating that Carroll was conspiring with the Democratic