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Donald Trump says he ‘would love it’ after judge threatens to kick him out of E Jean Carroll defamation trial
For the first time, E. Jean Carroll confronts Donald Trump, accusing him of rape and lies, and tensions rise as Trump's disruptions risk expulsion.
On Wednesday morning, E Jean Carroll faced former US President Donald Trump in court for the first time, as she testified in her defamation case against the former president.
Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room nearly 30 years ago, and sued him for lying about it and damaging her reputation. Trump, who denied ever meeting Carroll, reacted with anger and defiance to her testimony, causing repeated disruptions and risking his expulsion from the courtroom.
Carroll told the jury, “Donald Trump assaulted me, and when I wrote about it, he said it never happened. He lied, and it shattered my reputation.”
The case is a ‘con-job’: Trump
Trump, who sat at the back of the court with his lead lawyer, Alina Habba, whispered to her and slouched in his seat as Carroll spoke. He also made loud comments that could be heard by the lawyers and the jury, according to Carroll’s attorney, Shawn Crowley.
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“Mr Trump has been sitting at the back table and has been loudly saying things throughout Ms Carroll’s testimony. It’s loud enough for us to hear it, so I imagine it’s loud enough for the jury to hear it,” Crowley said.
Judge Lewis Kaplan warned Trump to lower his voice and not to interfere with the proceedings. He said, “I’m just going to ask Mr Trump to take special care to keep his voice down when conferring with counsel, so that the jury does not overhear.”
However, Trump did not comply with the judge’s request and continued to make remarks during the trial.
Crowley reported to the judge that Trump had called the case a “witch-hunt” and a “con-job”.
‘I would love it’
Kaplan said, “Mr Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited, and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, which is what has been reported to me, and if he disregards court orders. Mr Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial … I understand you are probably very eager for me to do that.”
Trump said and gestured, “I would love it, I would love it.”
“I know you would, you just can’t control yourself in this circumstance, apparently,” Kaplan replied.
“You can’t either,” Trump fired back.
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After Carroll finished her statement, another of her lawyers, Roberta Kaplan, asked her about her career as a writer and a columnist for Elle magazine. The jury learned how Carroll rose from writing for prestigious publications to becoming a successful author and a talk show host.
Carroll vs Trump-not the first time
This is Carroll’s second defamation trial against Trump. In May, she won a $5m verdict against him, after a jury found him guilty of sexual assault and defamation. Carroll revealed her rape allegation against Trump in 2019, in an excerpt from her book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, published by New York magazine.
Trump, who was the president at the time, responded by saying, “I’ve never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book – that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section.”
