E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against Trump is not credible

This past June, right before the release of her new book, Carroll alleged that Trump had assaulted — and possibly raped her — in a New York City department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996. Naturally, these claims received much media attention. The president’s response to the allegations only furthered the interest in the story.

In addition to denying that the incident took place, Trump explained: “She’s not my type.” To even the casual observer, that statement was out of line. To suggest that Carroll is not attractive enough to entice him into forcibly touching or assaulting her is cringeworthy at best. And objectifying an accuser is certainly not a smart defense strategy.

Now, several months after the initial uproar faded from the media spotlight, Carroll is suing the president for defamation. There are several problems with her claims.

Carroll has not brought — and reportedly won’t bring — rape charges against Trump. She has chosen to go with a defamation suit instead.

During an MSNBC interview in the summer shortly after the news broke, Carroll said to bring criminal charges would be “disrespectful to the women who are down on the border, who are being raped around the clock down there without any protection.” Even more puzzling was this conclusion: “Mine was three minutes, I’m a mature woman, I can handle it, I can keep going, my life has gone on, I’m a happy woman.”

If the assault took place as Carroll says, the passage of time, which brings maturity and sometimes eases emotion, should not be cause enough to set aside the pursuit of justice. With the world watching, her case would offer the perfect opportunity to hold an alleged predator accountable. Most of all, it would encourage other victims of sexual crime to do the same.

Unfortunately, the defamation lawsuit seems to focus entirely on Carroll’s waning professional popularity. This takes the focus off of the supposed crime in question. It is another bizarre twist and only further diminishes her story.

As reported by Business Insider:

It is difficult to look at this entire saga and not conclude that E. Jean Carroll is actively making a mess of a serious allegation.

One wonders if her explosion onto the media scene in June was not solely intended to bring attention to her upcoming book. In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Carroll even denied victimhood, saying there was “nothing sexual” about the alleged incident and bizarrely stating, “I think most people think of rape as being sexy.”

Of course, Americans are still well aware that the president has been a womanizer throughout his adult life and possibly even worse. Everyone remembers the release of the Access Hollywood tape shortly before the 2016 election, wherein Trump bragged about forcing himself on women and grabbing them because “when you’re a star, they let you do it.”

These words should horrify any listener.

But the requirement and pursuit of proof is an important endeavor no matter if a crime happened decades ago or at the hands of a man who became president or not. Time does not erase wrongdoing, and elevated status — even to the presidency — is not good enough reason to withhold accountability.

Yet the statements made by and actions of Carroll since her June announcement are enough to warrant little credence in her as an actual victim. While allegations of sexual misconduct should never be about politics and popularity, this accusation centers on both. Carroll is thus doing a major disservice to women who have truly suffered at the hands of abusive men.

If there is ever a time to be laser-focused on an end goal, it is in the serious pursuit of justice. Unfortunately, it appears that E. Jean Carroll has little interest in the consequences of her own unserious actions.

Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.