NEW YORK — Donald Trump went straight from his victory in the Republican Iowa caucuses to a New York courtroom Tuesday for the start of a defamation trial brought by writer E Jean Carroll after an earlier jury found he had sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.

In court, the former US president did not make any statements, and he and Ms Carroll avoided looking at each other while jurors were being selected, according to reporters allowed inside the courtroom.

But Mr Trump continued attacking Ms Carroll on his Truth Social platform, reposting a clip from an interview she gave to CNN and writing, "Can you believe I have to defend myself against this woman's fake story?!"

The 77-year-old Republican White House frontrunner, seen leaving the courthouse at about 3pm (4am SGT), headed to the northeastern state of New Hampshire, which will hold the nation's second presidential nomination contest next Tuesday.

The shocking case, which would likely once have been enough to wreck any politician's career, has had no visible impact on Trump's bid to retake the White House — and if anything is boosting his standing with his party's right wing.

Ms Carroll, 80, is seeking more than US$10 million (S$13 million) in damages in the civil trial, alleging that Mr Trump defamed her in 2019 when he was president and she had just come out with her allegation, saying she "is not my type." 

This is separate to a civil case last year where another New York jury found Mr Trump liable for sexually assaulting Ms Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996 and subsequently defaming her in 2022, when he called her a "complete con job."

In that case, the jury awarded Ms Carroll US$5 million in damages.

This is only one of many trials swirling over Mr Trump's head. He has been indicted in four criminal cases and faces 91 counts on allegations including his attempts to undermine the 2020 election which he lost to Mr Joe Biden, taking stacks of top secret documents, and business fraud.

Mr Trump has embraced his legal problems as evidence of a conspiracy theory in which a nebulous "deep state" is out to stop him from returning to power.

'RAPE' FINDING

Despite the constant scandal, his fervent base of supporters proved its strength on Monday with an overwhelming victory in the Iowa caucuses to choose the Republican candidate who will face Mr Biden on Election Day in November.

Mr Trump has used previous trial appearances to seize the limelight and deliver invective-filled speeches — both outside courthouses and, when allowed to speak by the judge, on the witness stand. He has also used social media posts to issue crude insults against court personnel.

The judge in Tuesday's trial, Mr Lewis Kaplan, has issued strict instructions to curtail Mr Trump. 

Ms Carroll says that in 1996, Mr Trump assaulted her against the wall of a Manhattan department store dressing room — and the previous civil jury agreed.

Mr Kaplan stated unambiguously that Mr Trump had "sexually abused — indeed, raped — Ms. Carroll" and that the Republican cannot now claim otherwise in court.

Ms Carroll's lawyers last week urged Mr Kaplan to prevent Mr Trump from making "inadmissible, prejudicial" comments in court.

Last week, the former president continued to insist that he had "no idea" who Ms Carroll was, calling her "a wack job" and saying the trial was "rigged." AFP