Former President Donald Trump will not be given access to the identities of jurors expected to decide in the upcoming civil trial over whether he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll, who also accused Trump of rape. Trump had argued that his recent criminal indictment in Manhattan would make it difficult to find an impartial jury in Carroll's civil case. However, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan rejected Trump's renewed effort to require that prospective jurors provide their names and other personal information on written questionnaires. The judge upheld his decision to seat an anonymous jury at the trial, which is scheduled for April 25, reflecting the threat of juror harassment.

Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, has accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in late 1995 or early 1996. The defamation trial concerns whether Trump defamed her in October 2022 by calling her rape claim a “hoax” and “lie” and denying that the incident ever took place. Carroll is also suing Trump for defamation over his denial of the dressing room encounter in June 2019. She is seeking to hold him accountable under a New York law that provides a one-year window for adults to sue their alleged abusers even if the statutes of limitations have expired.

Trump is leading the Republican field for the 2024 presidential election, despite his legal woes. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.