The measure passed, and shortly after midnight on Nov. 24, when it took effect, Ms. Carroll sued Mr. Trump. On Tuesday, that case is scheduled for trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan, where, after years of accusations and angry denials traded in articles, interviews and social media, a jury will be charged with determining the truth.
The proceeding will take place amid a barrage of legal cases aimed at Mr. Trump, who is running to regain the presidency, and arguing that the suits and investigations are meant to drag him down. It comes just weeks after Mr. Trump’s appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court, where he pleaded not guilty to fraud charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, and a recent appearance in Manhattan where he was questioned under oath in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by Attorney General Letitia James of New York.
Mr. Trump is also facing a criminal investigation by the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney over attempted interference in the 2020 election; by a federal special counsel over his decision to keep sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence, and for his role in the events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. He has denied wrongdoing in all the cases.
A cyclone of news coverage followed his arraignment. His history of attacking judges, law enforcement officials and even individual jurors in other matters, has led the judge in Ms. Carroll’s case, Lewis A. Kaplan, to take steps to protect jurors who might fear retribution by the former president’s supporters: He ordered that they be kept anonymous, even from the lawyers and parties.
Mr. Trump, 76, has denied that he raped Ms. Carroll, 79, and has attacked her repeatedly in public statements and on social media, both in office and after he left. In 2019, he called Ms. Carroll’s allegation “totally false” and said he could not have raped her because she was not his “type.”