Fireworks in E. Jean Carroll Defamation Trial As Judge Threatens to Bar Trump From Courtroom

By Susie Moore | 4:30 PM on January 17, 2024

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There were fireworks in a New York courtroom on Wednesday as Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the second defamation trial involving E. Jean Carroll and former President Donald Trump, threatened to bar Trump from the courtroom if he continued to be disruptive during the proceedings.

Judge Lewis Kaplan admonished Trump for his audible reactions to Carroll’s testimony in front of the jury, threatening that the former president could be barred from the trial if he continues.
Trump was heard saying "that’s not true," "it’s a witch hunt" and "it really is a con job" during Carroll’s testimony.
After the jury was excused for lunch, Kaplan told Trump that his right to be present during the trial could be forfeited if he is disruptive.
"Mr. Trump, I hope I don't have to consider excluding you from the trial," Kaplan said in an exchange after the jury was excused for lunch, adding: "I understand you're probably eager for me to do that."
"I would love it," Trump responded from the defense table.
"I know you would like it. You just can't control yourself in this circumstance, apparently," Kaplan said.
"You can't either," Trump muttered before walking out.

If you're experiencing a strange sense of déjà vu, it's understandable. As indicated above, this is actually the second defamation trial involving Carroll and Trump — both of which are/were before U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan (no relation to Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan) in the Southern District of New York. The one that went to trial in late April of 2023 and resulted in a $5 million jury verdict in favor of Carroll (Carroll II) derived from statements Trump made in 2022 about Carroll (and her allegations that he had sexually abused her). This one is about statements he made earlier (in 2019) even though it's being tried after the one regarding the 2022 statements.

Here's a bit more on the background:

The original lawsuit (Carroll I) derived from similar statements Trump made in 2019. In that case, Carroll sued solely for defamation after Trump, in response to her publishing an article and book in which she claimed that Trump sexually assaulted her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City in 1995 or 1996, denied the alleged assault (essentially branding her a liar), denied knowing her, and asserted Carroll wasn’t his “type.” That case was delayed, however, while the parties litigated whether the fact that Trump was president at the time of the earlier statements afforded some degree of immunity for them. Ultimately, the judge ruled that it did not, and the case was set for trial in January 2024. Trump filed a counterclaim in Carroll I regarding statements Carroll made about him following the verdict in Carroll II, but that has now been dismissed by the court as well.

So, while Carroll II was tried in April 2023 (and is now on appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals), Carroll I is being tried currently. In this case, Carroll is asking the jury for $10 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages.

Trump won't be hanging around the courthouse, though. He's got a campaign event scheduled for Wednesday night in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where voters will have a chance to cast their primary votes next Tuesday.