E. Jean Carroll uses Trump's latest rant to urge judge to control him at defamation trial
Former President Donald Trump responded to the closing arguments in his civil fraud trial on Thursday with an angry, politically-charged rant against all of his legal woes — and writer E. Jean Carroll, who is currently suing Trump for defamation, is using it in a new court filing seeking to put limits on his behavior at trial, reported The Messenger.
Trump, wrote Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan in a letter to the judge, "May well perceive a benefit in seeking to poison these proceedings, where the only question for the jury is how much more he will have to pay in damages for defaming Ms. Carroll. This court should make clear from the outset that Mr. Trump is forbidden from engaging in such antics and will suffer consequences if he does so."
During his rant on Thursday, Trump proclaimed that he actually deserves damages in the case, extolled the virtues of the buildings he owns, and attacked his former attorney Michael Cohen, who testified against him. Trump insisted that he is the victim of political persecution.
"It takes little imagination to think that Mr. Trump is gearing up for a similar performance here — only this time, in front of a jury," Kaplan added. "Indeed, as noted above, Mr. Trump promised a second round of this same scenario in his remarks to the press just yesterday."
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Carroll alleges that Trump raped her in a New York City department store in the late 1990s, though she doesn't remember the exact date. Trump denied these allegations and claimed that Carroll was making them up to advance her career — a claim that led to Carroll suing him for defamation.
A jury last year found Trump defamed and sexually abused Carroll in a separate case.
The latest, due to start next week, regards a separate instance when Carroll claims he defamed her. The judge has already found him liable, but the trial is to decide damages.