Donald Trump, former President of the United States, appeared in the witness stand as part of the second defamation trial involving E. Jean Carroll. Despite weeks of promises that he would deny having met the advice columnist, Trump lasted a mere three minutes in the witness chair. Nevertheless, the jury did not escape witnessing the ex-president’s fierce remarks.
Aside from a series of notable exchanges, the plaintiff’s counsel presented to the jury a collection of Trump’s denial clips, wherein he dismissed Carroll’s allegations, admitted he didn’t read her book before criticizing it, and confused Carroll’s photo with his first wife’s. Additionally, the former President made claims about his considerable wealth.
Trump’s counsel, Alina Habba, continued to exhibit her unconventional courtroom approach. In a move unexpected even by common legal standards, Habba attempted to impeach her own witness. On the flip side, Judge Lewis Kaplan made it clear to Trump that a repeat of his former disturbing court appearance was unacceptable.
In his testimony, Trump confirmed the truth of his earlier deposition, claiming he never intended harm to Carroll. Instead, he asserted he was merely defending himself, his family, and the presidency. However, his attempts to label the situation as a “false accusation” were swiftly shut down by the court.
Throughout the proceedings, Trump repeatedly claimed that the scenario was un-American. Meanwhile, the disputed parties are in the midst of negotiating the jury instructions ahead of tomorrow’s closing arguments. As the trial moves into its final stages, questions remain regarding the permissible scope of Trump’s claims and how Carroll’s alleged damages should be calculated.
Remaining true to the details of the case, the full records of the proceedings are available online on Carroll v. Trump I and Carroll v. Trump II.
Much more information about this trial can be found in the full piece by Liz Dye, who covers such developments extensively on her Law and Chaos substack.