As if the choice between his legal or electoral obligations wasn't enough, Donald Trump is today adding a third personal option, the funeral of his mother-in-law, Melania Trump's mother. His legal team yesterday again asked the judge to postpone the trial for a few days who is celebrated in New York for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll so that the former president can mourn. Judge Lewis Kaplan continues to refuseIn fact, Trump is not obliged to appear in court in this trial, so the trial can continue without his presence.
As is usual in Trump's trials, the judge handling the case yesterday called the former president's attention to his behavior in the courtroom. This time for speaking too loudly. ¨I just want to ask Mr. Trump to be particularly careful not to speak too loudly. and that the jury listens to him when he talks to his lawyers, Judge Lewis Kaplan told him. The warning came after Shawn Crowley, one of the attorneys for the prosecution, complained to Kaplan that Trump was shaking his head and saying things out loud it is wrong or “She has already regained her memory” during the writer's testimony in the former president's libel trial. Crowley says his words can be heard two rows away and could easily reach the ears of a jury that must remain objective.
Writer and former columnist E. Jean Carroll took the stand this Wednesday to explain to the jury how she believes Donald Trump ruined her reputation by publicly calling her a liar. The plaintiff denies having lied. Trump said I made up the accusation about selling books and that it was a lie. He said that I made an accusation about publicity, that was a lie,” he said. The 80-year-old recalled her successful 50-year professional career, which was tarnished after Trump's allegations as many called her a “liar.” Carroll also explained to the judge why he included the former American leader in his book entitled ¨Why do we need men? A modest suggestion. She said it was because she was overwhelmed by the women's other testimonies and thought, “My God, I'm a hypocrite.” I hold myself back, “if I don't do it now, I never will,” that's why he reported it. In addition, he assures that he had to take numerous precautions for his safety several anonymous threatening messagesYes, that's why “I bought bullets for the gun I inherited from my father.”, he told the judge. Her lawyer showed jurors the harassing messages her client received about the allegations against Trump.
Judge Kaplan stopped Carroll's testimony at some point at the request of Trump's lawyers because the author continued to describe sexual altercations that had taken place in the 1990s and the judge had previously said that these events would not be discussed in a jury verdict on these events last Year). What is currently being decided in the Manhattan federal courtroom is the amount that Donald Trump may have to pay to E. Jean Carroll for defaming her. The author demands a fine of 10 million dollars.
This week, the judge also made it clear that if Trump wants to testify in this trial, he could do so next Monday, January 22, the day before the New Hampshire primary. He has set conditions for that statement that include not denying the sex crimes and not calling Carroll a liar. We have to see whether the spontaneous former president agrees to these conditions, and that's what we hear in the room.