Tomorrow, Donald Trump is slated to take the stand in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, following the postponement of the original date due to a juror’s illness (Above the Law). Despite this, doubts remain as to whether the former president will indeed attend.
While Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, also reported feeling unwell following her parents’ positive Covid-19 diagnosis, this did not stop her from attending an event in New Hampshire yesterday night. Here, disappointingly moderate returns came in for Trump (NBC News).
Trump has been publicly denying that he ever met Carroll and likewise refutes the allegations of sexual assault in a mid-90s department store dressing room. In response to these continued public denials, Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan urges the court to limit the defendant’s testimony to relevant and admissible issues (these related filings can be found here and here).
In what has been described as a chaotic case, key questions yet to be ruled upon include whether Carroll had an obligation to mitigate damages from the alleged defamation and if any potential damages should be offset by her popularity on Twitter following the allegations. The absence of rulings on these subjects could complicate proceedings, particularly if Trump fails to testify tomorrow (Court Listener).
For ongoing updates on the case, legal professionals can refer to the dockets on Court Listener: Carroll v. Trump I and Carroll v. Trump II.