Trump plans New York press conference after hearing appeal arguments in sexual abuse case
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is appear in court on Friday, after which he held a press conference, while his lawyers argued that a $5 million verdict hold him liable for sexual abuse advice columnist E.Jean Carroll should be reversed in 1996.
It’s part of the starkly different approaches Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are taking to their debate on Tuesday, with the former president remaining in the spotlight while Harris prepares privately with her advisers in Pittsburgh. That’s a reflection of their differing campaign styles, with Trump regularly engaging with reporters — albeit often in friendly settings — while Harris has given just one interview and no news conferences since taking President Joe Biden’s spot at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Trump plans to speak to reporters at his eponymous tower in Midtown New York after hearing arguments in the Carroll case. He quietly entered, brushing past Carroll without acknowledging or looking at her.
The former president reacted at times during the proceedings, such as shaking his head when Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said Trump had sexually assaulted her client. He occasionally tilted his head from side to side but otherwise sat quietly and mostly alone.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty in May of sexual assault. Carroll says Trump attacked her in a department store fitting room, but the former president’s legal team says the verdict should be overturned because some evidence that was allowed at trial should have been excluded, while other evidence that should have been excluded was allowed. He denies guilt.
While running for president and facing a series of other lawsuits against him, Trump did not attend Carroll’s trial and was not present when the charges were read, but he called the verdict “a disgrace” on his social media site.
On Friday he travels to Charlotte, North Carolina, to address the Fraternal Order of Police.
Carroll was one of more than a dozen women who accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. She went public in her 2019 memoir. Trump denied itand said he had never encountered Carroll in the store and did not know her. He called her a “crazy” who had made up her story to sell a memoir.
Trump faces unprecedented criminal and civil risks if nominated by a major party.
He has been apart convicted of 34 crimes in a New York state case involving hush-money payments allegedly made to a porn actor. The judge in that case is expected to decide Friday whether to delay Trump’s sentencing.
Trump has also been ordered to pay large civil fines for lying about his wealth for years.
And he still faces cases alleging mishandling of classified documents, his actions after the 2020 election, and his activities during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But those cases are unlikely to go to trial before Election Day.