Defiant Trump takes legal risk on stand in New York defamation trial
Donald Trump has given testimony in the defamation trial initiated by writer E Jean Carroll, yet his much-anticipated stint on the stand was brief.
The civil trial centers on defamatory remarks made by Mr. Trump about Ms. Carroll in 2019 while he was in the White House.
Although he has denied the assault allegations, he was found liable for sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll in the 1990s. However, due to this ruling, the court had to spend considerable time deliberating the extent of his testimony on Thursday.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the case, insisted that the former US president confine his discussion topics on the stand, given the separate trial’s findings regarding his liability in the sexual assault case involving Ms. Carroll.
This led to extensive arguments between the judge and attorneys regarding the scope of Mr. Trump’s permissible testimony, overshadowing his mere four minutes on the stand.
Judge Kaplan emphasized that the previous trial had established the facts, leaving the sole issue of determining the extent, if any, of Mr. Trump’s financial responsibility towards Ms. Carroll.
He provided no leeway for the current Republican presidential frontrunner to deviate from the agreed-upon terms, preventing any possibility of launching into a monologue or campaigning from the witness stand.
This may serve as a lesson derived from one of Mr. Trump’s other legal disputes. In a recent New York civil fraud trial, Mr. Trump was initially informed that he could not present his closing argument.
The presiding judge in that case sought assurance that Mr. Trump would keep it brief and focused solely on the case’s pertinent matters.
Mr Trump responded with a six-minute monologue in which he argued he was a victim of political persecution.
The defamation trial on Thursday gave the 77-year-old much less leeway.
Asked if he stood by his deposition, Mr Trump said: “100% yes.”
His lawyer Alina Habba then asked if he denied Ms Carroll’s accusation. “That’s exactly right, yes I did,” he responded.
He went on to say “she said something that I considered a false accusation – totally false”.
But Judge Kaplan quickly cut Mr Trump off and told the jury to ignore that last statement.
Finally, Ms Habba asked if her client had ever instructed anyone to hurt Ms Carroll, to which Mr Trump said: “No, I just wanted to defend myself, my family and frankly, the presidency.” The judge again ordered the latter part stricken from the record.
And with that, the testimony was over. A reporter with WCBS heard Mr Trump say as he left the courtroom: “It’s not America. This is not America.”
Earlier in the day, Judge Kaplan warned him to stop interrupting proceedings by “talking loudly”. That included a moment when he was heard muttering under his breath that he had “never met this woman [Ms Carroll]”.
But it’s somewhat familiar territory when watching one of Mr Trump’s trials. While in court, he has often tested its limits and taken significant legal risks.
Testifying outside of the limitations outlined by the judge on Thursday could have theoretically caused Mr Trump to face hefty fines or even five years in prison for perjury.
But playing by his own rules is keeping Mr Trump’s base invested and tuned into his legal troubles.
And more importantly, it’s leading to considerable press coverage at a particularly important time for the politician. After the New Hampshire primary brought him another significant win, the former New York real estate mogul appears set to become the Republican presidential nominee.
Ronnell Andersen Jones, a professor of law at the University of Utah, told BBC News this case shows the “wide gap” between Mr Trump’s strategies in court and on the campaign trail.
While the former president and his lawyers may want to convince the jury that his comments in the White House did not show “ill will that warrants punitive damages”, that is easier said than done considering his actions.
“This will be a hard row to hoe, given that this same jury is daily receiving new evidence that the defendant, outside the courtroom, continues to spread the lie undeterred,” Ms Jones said.
The defamation trial will resume on Friday at 09:30 ET (14:30 GMT) with closing arguments. It is not yet known if Mr Trump will attend.
