E Jean Carroll vows to sue Trump for rape despite Apprentice contestant withdrawing her sexual assault case

Former president denies raping journalist in a New York City department store in 1996

E Jean Carroll has vowed to continue her legal fight with Donald Trump after fellow accuser Summer Zervos dropped her sexual assault case against the former president.

Ms Carroll, who has accused Mr Trump of raping her in a New York City department store in 1996, tweeted on Friday that she was “MORE determined” to win her defamation lawsuit.

She also said she plans to sue the former president when the Adult Survivors Act is passed in New York state, allowing survivors of sexual assault to sue their alleged abusers after the statute of limitations has passed.

“Friends, I feel MORE determined to fight and win my defamation suit against Trump,” she tweeted.

“In fact, as soon as the Adult Survivors bill passes in New York, I will sue Trump for rape.

“My spirits are high! My attorneys are warriors!”

The former Elle magazine columnist made the announcement after Ms Zervos withdrew her own lawsuit against Mr Trump that day.

Ms Zervos, who appeared as a contestant on the reality TV series The Apprentice which Mr Trump hosted before his White House run, accused him of kissing and groping her without her consent in 2007.

She claimed it happened twice, at his office in New York and at a hotel in California, when she had gone to Mr Trump for career advice after appearing on the show the year prior.

Mr Trump denied the allegations and said she was lying, claiming “that never happened”.

Mr Zervos sued him for defamation in 2017 in a case that has rumbled on ever since, after stalling during Mr Trump’s time in office.

On Friday, attorneys for both parties agreed to end the lawsuit.

Attorneys for Ms Zervos said in a statement that she had dropped the suit but continues to stand by the allegations and has not received a payout.

“After five years, Ms Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience,” they said in a statement.

“Ms Zervos stands by the allegations in her complaint and has accepted no compensation.”

It is not clear what led to the suit being dropped. However, attorneys for Mr Trump had said last month that they planned to countersue Ms Zervos.

Ms Carroll filed her defamation lawsuit in 2019 after coming forward earlier that year to accuse the then-president of rape.

The alleged incident took place in a dressing room in the high-end Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman in 1996 when she said she randomly bumped into Mr Trump.

Ms Carroll, who was a TV talk show host at the time, claims they chatted before Mr Trump pinned her against a wall in a dressing room and sexually assaulted her.

Mr Trump denied the allegations in a White House press conference, saying he had “never met her” and that “she’s not my type”.

He accused her of lying to try to sell her memoir, which featured details of the alleged assault.

Ms Carroll pushed back on his claims, sharing a photo of herself and Mr Trump together with his then-wife Ivana Trump and her then-husband John Johnson at an NBC party in 1987 to show they had met.

Ms Carroll’s attorneys have also been requesting a DNA sample from Mr Trump after testing found unidentified male DNA on the shoulder and sleeves of the dress she says she was wearing during the encounter.

In September, a federal judge denied Mr Trump’s request to continue pausing Ms Carroll’s lawsuit allowing proceedings to resume in the case.

This came despite Mr Trump’s attorneys still appealing an earlier ruling denying his request that he be removed as the defendant and replaced by the US government, because he was speaking in his capacity as president at the time of his denials.

This summer, Joe Biden’s Justice Department said his comments about Ms Carroll were “crude and disrespectful” but agreed with Mr Trump’s argument.

Oral arguments from the parties are set for 3 December.

More than 10 women publicly accused Mr Trump of sexual misconduct during his first White House run. He denies the allegations and has not been criminally charged.