Trump rejects sexual assault conviction, denies knowing accuser

Washington, May 10 (EFE).- Former United States President Donald Trump said he rejected the Wednesday conviction for sexual abuse of a writer and that he had never seen the woman in her life.

Trump mocked E. Jean Caroll’s complainant – who accused him of abusing her in the changing room of a New York department store chain in the 1990s – and said the trial was bought, during an event by American channel CNN.

“I have absolutely no idea who this woman is,” said the former president, who was sentenced to pay Caroll $5 million in compensation for the “damage” caused to her and her reputation.

Trump also mocked Caroll, calling her “crazy,” amid applause and laughter from the audience convened by one of the main US television networks.

On the show, Trump fielded questions from journalist Kailtan Collins and voters in the audience on a variety of topics, including the storming of the Capitol, the 2020 election where he was defeated by incumbent Joe Biden, the war in Ukraine and abortion.

At various times, the interactions between Trump and the journalist became heated, with the former president even going so far as to insult Collins, calling her an “unpleasant person,” received with applause from the public.

He echoed, once again, his false accusations of electoral fraud in presidential elections that gave Biden victory, saying they were “rigged” elections.

He defended his actions during the assault on the Capitol, which are being investigated by a special prosecutor from the US justice department.

On Jan. 6, the day hundreds of his followers violently stormed the Congress building and where five people died, Trump said “that was an unbelievable (sic) and it was a beautiful day.”

““I’ve never spoken to a crowd as large as this… and they were there proud. They were there with love in their heart,” Trump said.

The former president said that, if he were re-elected president, he would offer a presidential pardon to a large part of the people who have been convicted by the Justice for his actions during the assault.

“I’m inclined to pardon a lot of them,” Trump said, referring to the more than 300 people who have been convicted of various crimes committed on Jan. 6, including assault, destruction of government property or sedition.

Trump, in turn, rejected the other judicial investigations that he has pending, including the case for handling classified documents and his attempted interference in the vote count in Georgia.

The Republican maintained a tense relationship with CNN and its reporters during his tenure and has repeatedly described the television channel as a publisher of “fake news.”

CNN’s decision to air such a show with Trump was heavily criticized by some Democratic politicians and political analysts.

“What we saw tonight was a series of extremely irresponsible decisions that put a sexual abuse victim at risk… in front of a national audience, and I could not have disagreed with it more. It was shameful,” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with MSNBC.

“Why did CNN host a Trump rally?” Democrat legislator Daniel Goldman wrote on his Twitter account: EFE

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