--- title: Carroll Says She Wouldn't Press Rape Charges Against Trump description: E. Jean Carroll has said that she would not press rape charges against President Donald Trump for an alleged assault in the 1990s. canonical: https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-22T18:21:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:43.752Z article:section: Politics og:title: E. Jean Carroll Says She Would Not Consider Bringing Rape Charges Against President Trump og:description: Carroll has alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s og:url: https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte47b0bc82e2d257c/6989fef397cdff76536b924a/e.-jean-carroll.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: E. Jean Carroll at her home og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: E. Jean Carroll Says She Would Not Consider Bringing Rape Charges Against President Trump twitter:description: Carroll has alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte47b0bc82e2d257c/6989fef397cdff76536b924a/e.-jean-carroll.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # E. Jean Carroll Says She Would Not Consider Bringing Rape Charges Against President Trump > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=beff8382-8e33-4c74-b65b-46637103f86a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Twice a week | time.com/newsletters, September 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=beff8382-8e33-4c74-b65b-46637103f86a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=beff8382-8e33-4c74-b65b-46637103f86a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=beff8382-8e33-4c74-b65b-46637103f86a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8) (5:02)  _Published 2017-12-06. For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year._  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jun 22, 2019 6:21 PM UTC  E. Jean Carroll at her home in Warwick, NY on June 21. E. Jean Carroll at her home in Warwick, NY on June 21. Eva Deitch—The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jun 22, 2019 6:21 PM UTC Renowned advice columnist E. Jean Carroll has said that she would not press rape charges against President Donald Trump for an alleged assault in the 1990s. In an [excerpt](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/president-donald-trump-faces-new-rape-accusation.html) released Friday from her forthcoming book, _What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal,_ Carroll writes that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in late 1995 or early 1996_._ Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least [18 other women](https://time.com/5058646/donald-trump-accusers/), has [denied](https://time.com/5612502/trump-jean-carroll-sexual-assault-allegation/) Carroll’s accusations and claims that he never met her. [MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell interviewed](https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/exclusive-with-new-trump-assault-accuser-62458949970?cid=sm%5Fnpd%5Fms%5Ftw%5Fma) Carroll on Friday and noted that New York does not have a statute of limitations for rape. But when asked if she would consider bringing rape charges against Trump, Carroll gave a flat “No.” Carroll explained that she feels as if it would “just be disrespectful” for her to make sexual assault about herself when it happens to women around the world. “I would find it disrespectful to the women who are down on the border who are being raped around the clock, down there without any protection,” said Carroll. “They’re young women… It would just be disrespectful if I – you know – and 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.” Carroll admitted that she still struggles with a feeling of responsibility for the assault. “I still can’t kick the feeling that it was my fault. I can’t. It’s hard to get rid of that,” said Carroll. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We can't all be ****. We can't all be asking for it. I am here to give you permission to be angry. This reality might not have to be our reality anymore. I felt this crushing sense of powerlessness. This is the time to take my power back. Here's my story. Uber promises. Investigation into sexual harrassment. Fox News cutting its ties with Bill O'Reilley. I felt it was my duty for the women who are silent to be brave. It's okay to stand up for yourself. Taylor Swift appearing in court today. Harvey Weinstein, the New York- People forget a lot that there's a human behind this. Someone who was very hurt and wronged. [ MUSIC ] [ CROSSTALK ] I always thought maybe things could change for my daughter. I never thought things could change for me. [ MUSIC ] Honestly, I was furious. I have had a man grope me in front of multiple collegues and I was tired of wondering if it was something I wore, I was tired of wondering if it was a vibe I was giving off and when I talked to other women they were furious too >> I felt that if I can speak out, may be if I just stand up then someone else would stand up with me >> There wasn't a place For us to report these experiences. But I sure did talk about it a lot over the years. The least I could do was actually tell my own story and validate theirs for them in a way, just as I was hoping someone much bigger than me would help validate my story. And I knew that other women Would continue to apple for jobs there and that made me feel really uncomfortable. I was afraid of the retaliation, I know the power of patriarchy. I know what men can do when their angry. They did everything that they could to prevent me from raising my concerns further. They asked me if there were other girls, maybe that he has done this too and can I go get them. I had to show them that I wasn't lying And it's like they took me for a joke. And if they couldn't stop us from talking, well, they were gonna stop everybody from listening to us. People digging into my Instagram and pulling up sexy photos as if they kind of discredited me. Well, I've seen you in committee. You're really tough. Why didn't you just hit him? Why did you let it go on for so long? I was a smart young woman that had gone to college, that knew how to fight, and I still was manipulated and conned. I felt ashamed that I hadn't spoken out sooner, not having the strength earlier on to make it stop. The feeling of being humiliated as a woman And there's a point you think is it my fault? For so long I went around harboring this ridiculous belief that because I was a non white woman in my 20s, it was expected that I would have to be treated this way. We don't have to just live like this. Few things could change from my daughter I never thought things could change from me. I'm here to give you permission to be angry, people are afraid specially women where conditioned since birth to be polite. To be nice, to be kind, to be liked to not make waves. ****. We can't all be crazy, we can't all be ****, we can't all be asking for it. And I'm telling you that all the people who stand up, all the people who speak out you are teaching people how to treat and you should not be shamed for that. The shame is not ours to hold, the shame is on perpetrator. Me Too can be a conversation starter or it can be the whole conversation. It took away the power from the predator. And placed the power on the victim. And maybe, just maybe we would be able to get a glimpse at the magnitude of this problem. The amount of people sharing the stories with me is so intense. People that were complete strangers reached out to tell very personal stories. It's What they did with this and they did a lot and not only in France in Hong kong japanese. The most months >> I feel like the day that I spoke up and I said you are a sexual harasser I changed >> some of the. Things in the night. [ FOREIGN ]. It's an honor to be the person that hey I spoke up about this. I took on the risk. And I was very humbled and I was very proud. I'm very glad now that the story has been heard. It's a direct response to that arrogance and that show of power and [ UNKNOWN ]. A sense, we won't be silenced. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/"},"headline":"E. Jean Carroll Says She Would Not Consider Bringing Rape Charges Against President Trump","datePublished":"2019-06-22T18:21:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:52:43.752Z","description":"Carroll has alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s","url":"https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/","keywords":["Donald J. Trump","White House","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte47b0bc82e2d257c/6989fef397cdff76536b924a/e.-jean-carroll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Law","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-law/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte47b0bc82e2d257c/6989fef397cdff76536b924a/e.-jean-carroll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"E. Jean Carroll at her home","caption":"E. Jean Carroll at her home","creditText":"Eva Deitch—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-j-trump/","name":"Donald J. Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/","name":"E. Jean Carroll Says She Would Not Consider Bringing Rape Charges Against President Trump"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers","description":"For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jbtW5SvJ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-12-06T12:11:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/","duration":"PT5M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5612760/e-jean-caroll-rape-trump-book/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```