Former US President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower for Manhattan federal courtroom to attend his defamation trial in New York on January 26, 2024.
Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
Donald Trump on Friday stalked out of a New York federal courtroom shortly after a lawyer for E. Jean Carroll in her closing argument at his sex defamation trial advised jurors, “Donald J. Trump thinks the principles do not apply to him.”
Trump’s dramatic departure got here minutes after the choose in the case warned his lawyer she was risking being tossed into jail earlier than closing arguments started on the trial, which decide how a lot the previous president owes E. Jean Carroll in financial damages for defaming her when she accused him of raping her in the mid-Nineties.
“The file will mirror that Mr. Trump simply rose and walked out of the courtroom,” mentioned Judge Lewis Kaplan.
Earlier, Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba, who had already irked Kaplan for exhibiting up late in courtroom, angered him when she continued in arguing that protection legal professionals ought to be capable of present a slide to jurors throughout their summation that represented some tweets associated to Carroll.
“You usually are not going to make use of a slide to characterize what number of tweets there have been, you aren’t utilizing that slide, interval,” Kaplan mentioned.
When Habba mentioned, “I must make a file,” referring to placing her argument on the file, the choose issued his warning.
“You are on the verge of spending time in the lockup, now sit down!,” the choose advised Habba.
Before the arguments started and jurors entered the courtroom, Kaplan choose issued a warning.
“During closing arguments, nobody is to say something aside from opposing counsel,” mentioned Kaplan. “There are to be no interruptions or audible feedback by anybody else and that can apply once I cost the jury and that can apply to counsel then as effectively.”
Carroll’s legal professionals have complained throughout the trial about Trump making feedback that have been audible to jurors whereas sitting together with his attorneys on the protection desk.
The nine-member jury is anticipated to start deliberations later Friday after a number of hours of summations by Carroll’s lawyer and Trump’s attorney, and directions from the choose.
Carroll, 80, is looking for not less than $10 million from Trump. Both of them have been on the courtroom in Manhattan for the closing arguments.
Last yr she gained a $5 million judgment in opposition to him at a unique, however associated trial. Trump is interesting that verdict.
E. Jean Carroll arrives at Manhattan federal courtroom in New York as her defamation go well with in opposition to Donald Trump continues on January 26, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
In that prior case, jurors dominated that the 78-year-old Trump was chargeable for sexually abusing the author in the assault at a New York division retailer, and for defaming her in disparaging statements he made in 2022 whereas denying her allegation.
The present trial is coping with completely different, however related statements Trump made as president about Carroll in 2019, after she first went public along with her account of the assault in a New York journal article.
Kaplan beforehand dominated that as a result of of the prior verdict, there was no authorized query that Trump defamed Carroll. That ruling left solely the query of financial damages remaining for the jury.
Trump throughout his very temporary testimony in the trial Thursday mentioned of Carrol’s declare, “I take into account it a false accusation.”
Kaplan struck that testimony, in mild of the prior jury’s verdict which discovered he had sexually abused Carroll.
Trump earlier this week defeated former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential major in New Hampshire. Last week, he gained the Iowa GOP caucuses.
This is growing information. Check again for updates.