DONALD Trump said he could stand on Fifth Avenue, "shoot somebody" and Americans would still vote for him. 

This has long been his shtick, right, that nothing sticks. Teflon Don. Now, something has stuck. He has been bested, he won't believe it, by a woman – and in New York too. 

The former president will have to pay the writer E Jean Carroll $5 million in damages after being found guilty of sexual battery and defamation, although he is, no surprises, appealing the verdict. 

Ms Carroll tried to fight off Donald Trump in a changing room in a Manhattan department store 30 years ago and this week she fought him again in what should be a victory not only for her but for women. Will it, though? 

Despite the positive outcome, the court case was demoralising in playing out outdated rape myths and stereotypes, the likes of which the #MeToo movement worked so hard to challenge.

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As though #MeToo had never happened, Trump's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, asked why Ms Carroll did not scream during the assault. The public, by now, have been educated on this subject, on how reactions differ from woman to woman, on what shock and fear can do to a person. Rapidly, the hashtag #Ididntscream appeared online in Ms Carroll's support. 

Lawyers dealing with sexual assault victims in a courtroom should surely, by now, be educated too but Mr Tacopina pushed the issue, grilling his witness on her reaction. 

#MeToo aimed to expose a culture of impunity, it explained the harms done by gendered power imbalances. It shone a light on how legislation changes and decades of progress in women's participation in public life had not achieved what they should. 

The movement was energised by having a US president like Donald Trump, one who seemed to enjoy carte blanche sexism and misogyny and who could not be toppled. Galvanised by a desire to do something, anything, in response to having such a man as president, women rallied to the cause. 

It was in the wake of #MeToo that Ms Carroll first wrote of her assault at the hands of Trump. And #MeToo opened up a space that allowed women to talk about their experiences and said those women should be believed. The pushback was swift and obvious. Donald Trump was one of the most famous and strident opponents. 

"It is a very scary time for young men in America," he said in 2018, "Where you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of. This is a very, very – this is a very difficult time."

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His rebuttal of #MeToo, of false allegations, is not stood up by statistics. Allegations determined to be false after investigation account for two per cent to 10% of accusations. Due process, of course, is vital.

But for a great many rape survivors due process is outwith their reach - they are perhaps not believed; maybe they waited too long to report the crime and have exceeded the statute of limitations (in the UK there is no time bar on reporting rape but in the US the limit varies from state to state.

Ms Carroll filed her lawsuit under new legislation in New York, the Adult Survivors Act); perhaps they never feel able to come forward.  

Ms Carroll, thanks to the New York legislation, was able to come forward and her effort and courage is effort and courage on behalf of the many women who have accused Trump and seen him escape without penalty.

The New York jury in her civil case was charged with determining whether Ms Carroll's claims were more likely to be true than to be false, rather than proven beyond a reasonable doubt as would be the test in a criminal trial. 

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Its verdict was unanimous that Trump sexually abused Ms Carroll in a Manhattan department store changing room in the 1990s and found him also guilty of defamation when he described her claims as a "hoax and a lie". It did not find, however, that Trump had raped her. 

Due to the fact he declined to testify, the jury was shown Trump's deposition, which showed Ms Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, asking him about his famous quote from the Access Hollywood video in which he said famous stars can just approach women and "grab 'em" by the genitals. "You can do anything."  

Trump, not a man for whom regret or penance is a thing, stood firm. "If you look over the last million years," he said. "I guess that’s been largely true.

Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately." Fortunately? 

Unfortunately for Donald Trump #MeToo has helped fell a former president. Surely, it can take anyone now. Or can it?

Trump had his first big media outing of his latest Republican candidacy on CNN on Wednesday evening. The circus of a presidential race is about to roll into town and if anyone thinks they can predict who the ringmaster will be then they are foolishly over-confident.

In the many battles against facts vs Donald Trump, Trump repeatedly won.

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No matter how odious or misogynistic or immoral his conduct and his comments, Trump repeatedly won. He has lost this court battle, but what will be the long-term repercussions?

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The fact that the jury rejected the rape claim may, ironically, go against Trump: it speaks to the fact that the jury was meticulous and unbiased, it weighed the evidence presented and gave a thoughtful outcome. 

In the current tussle between Trump and his closest Republican rival, the Florida Senator Ron DeSantis, Trump's polling improved when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg secured the former president's indictment. 

There's no suggestion that a guilty verdict on sexual assault and defamation would have a similar effect but it speaks volumes to the ongoing fight against misogynistic power dynamics that there's even a question mark as to how this might play out politically. 

Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota put the situation neatly when he said: "I’d rather have a president that isn’t found liable for battery," but "it’s not a disqualifier."

Ms Carroll has been bold in her pursuit of Trump. Now for his other pursuers - in politics, in the media - to show a matching mettle.