Trump could testify as trial set to resume in his legal fight with E. Jean Carroll
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump could return to a New York courtroom Thursday to defend himself against a lawsuit seeking more than $10 million for things he said about advice columnist E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault.
Trump’s first visit to the court ended abruptly on Monday because a juror was ill. The trial has since been suspended.
Carroll’s attorneys are expected to present their case tomorrow morning. If all goes according to plan, Trump could be on the witness stand before the lunch break. Trump won big victories in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday and in the Iowa caucus last week.
The 80-year-old Carroll testified during a trial last year in the same courtroom that she was attacked by Trump in the spring of 1996 in the dressing room of a downtown luxury department store. A jury agreed last year that this had happened and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation.
Trump denies ever knowing Carroll and says she made up her claims to sell a memoir. He did not testify or participate in the trial last year, a decision he now says he regrets.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that last year’s jury conclusions meant that a new jury selected last week would only have to decide how much money, if any, Trump still owes Carroll for defaming her and killing her in 2019 called a liar while he was president.
Kaplan has therefore ruled that Trump may not testify on topics that would conflict with last year’s verdict. For example, he cannot say that she made up her allegations of sexual abuse, or that she was motivated by her book deal or for political reasons.
Trump, 77, attended the trial for two or three days last week and told the jury — through muttered comments and gestures such as shaking his head — that he was disgusted by the case against him.
Trump has already tested the judge’s patience. After complaining to his lawyers about a “witch hunt” and a “scam” within earshot of jurors, Kaplan threatened to throw him out of the courtroom if it happened again. “I would love it,” Trump said. Later that day, Trump told a news conference that Kaplan was a “nasty judge” and that Carroll’s claim was “a made-up, made-up story.”
When not in court, he has repeatedly made statements on his social network, similar to statements that were at stake during the trial. Carroll’s lawyers presented some of those statements to the jury, arguing that the only way to prevent Trump from discrediting Carroll is to hit him hard financially.
Trump’s lawyers have tried to show the jury through their cross-examination of witnesses that Carroll has achieved a level of fame and financial rewards by taking on Trump that outweighs the death threats and other poison spread via social media is thrown at her.
One of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba, told the judge that he could testify because, even with the judge’s restrictions, he “can still provide significant testimony in his defense.”
He can testify, among other things, about his state of mind when he made the statements that landed him in court and how his comments came about when Carroll was doing media interviews and reporters asked him about her, Habba wrote.
She also suggested he could “show his lack of ill will or resentment” by talking about how he “corrected” his initial denial that he had ever met Carroll.
Before he testifies, Carroll’s lawyers are expected to rest their case after calling a final witness whose testimony will likely last less than an hour and show excerpts of a deposition Trump took in October 2022.
The current trial is in addition to the four criminal cases Trump is facing as the presidential primary season gets underway. He is juggling court and campaign appearances, using both to claim he is being persecuted by Democrats terrified of his possible election.