Trump faces civil trial for rape allegations.

The civil lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump of raping E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s began in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. Carroll is also suing Trump for defamation for publicly calling her allegations a “hoax.” Trump denies the allegations and is not required to appear at the trial. Carroll's lawyer argued that her account is corroborated by two friends she told contemporaneously and by former Bergdorf Goodman employees who can testify to physical attributes of the store at that time, and that Trump’s alleged assault of Carroll is part of a pattern. The trial is expected to last between one and two weeks.