Judge Warns Trump He Will Remove Him From Courtroom After Outbursts, Ex-President Responds: ‘I Would Love That’

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump was admonished by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan during his defamation trial brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll. Kaplan warned Trump to stop speaking while witnesses were talking and told him that he would not hesitate to eject him from the courtroom.

“Mr. Trump has the right to be present here,” Kaplan said. “That right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, which is what has been reported to me consists of. And if he disregards court orders, Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial. I understand you’re probably eager for me to do that.”

“I would love that,” Trump dryly responded.

Earlier in the day, Kaplan told the jury before that he had already decided that Trump sexually abused Carroll and that their only role would be to determine the extent of monetary damages.

On Tuesday, Trump left before the opening statements were given after the nine-member jury was selected to fly to a New Hampshire political rally.

Carroll’s lawyer, Shawn Crowley, in her opening statement, accused Trump of using “the world’s biggest microphone” to humiliate her, demolish her reputation and turn his supporters against her.

The former president’s lawyer argued that Carroll has never been more famous and was blaming him for harshly worded tweets written by Twitter trolls.

In Carroll’s civil lawsuit, she argued that, in 1996, he attacked her at a department store.

Trump scowled while the jury was being chosen. He raised his hand when Kaplan asked if anyone felt the court system treated him unfairly.

His gestures caused people in the courtroom to laugh.

“We know where you stand,” the judge replied.

After Trump left the courtroom, Crowley asked the jurors to make him pay for the comments he made as president. Last year, a jury agreed with Carroll and ordered Trump to pay her $5 million.

These comments were made in response to the claims she made in her 2019 memoir, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal. She stated that Trump sexually abused her years earlier at Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store.

“He said this from the White House, a place where presidents have signed laws, declared wars and decided the fate of the nation,” Crowley stated to the jurors.

Carroll’s lawyer noted that Trump continues arguing that he never abused her and says her allegations are just a partisan smear.

“How much money will it take to make him to stop?” Crowley asked the jurors.

Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, stated that the president was just acting in self-defense and that evidence would show Carroll’s career has thrived ever since she accused him.

Habba said in her opening argument that Carroll was put back into the limelight like she always wanted.

In response to Crowley’s argument that Trump supporters sent violent threats to Carroll, Trump’s attorney mentioned that she had sympathy for victims of sexual abuse but the backlash the former columnist endured was just a result of the digital age.

“Regardless of a few mean tweets, Ms. Carroll is now more famous than she has ever been in her life, and loved and respected by many, which was her goal,” Habba said to the jurors.

Carroll took the witness stand today. She testified about the damage to her career and reputation that were caused by Trump’s public statements. She is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.

Kaplan rejected the defense’s request to delay the trial on January 18 so Trump could attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs. This was part of a combative exchange in which the former president’s lawyers accused the judge of hindering their defense with evidence rulings before the trial, which favored Carroll.

“I am not stopping him from being there,” the judge stated regarding the funeral.

“No, you’re stopping him from being here,” Habba said in response.

Habba said to the judge that Trump has plans to testify.

The judge already rejected Trump’s request to delay the trial for one week.

Jurors picked for the trial will stay anonymous, even to the parties, lawyers and judicial staff.

According to Kaplan, the jurors will be driven to and from the courthouse from an unknown location to ensure their safety.

If Trump were to testify, he would be strictly limited in what he can say.

Kaplan stated that, due to the verdict in the first trial in May, the former president cannot get on the witness stand and argue that he did not sexually abuse or defame Carroll.

Trump is appealing and has not paid the previous award of a $5 million judgment, though he placed $5.55 million in escrow to cover the verdict and other costs if he loses his appeal.

One issue left undecided in the first trial was how much Trump owed for his comments made about Carroll while he was president.

Kaplan allowed Carroll to file an amended complaint in June 2023, which seeks damages of at least $10 million due to Trump repeating his claim that he never met Carroll and that her allegations were made up.

In a separate trial, New York Attorney General Letitia James asked New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron to fine Trump, Donald Jr. Trump and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization $370 million for years of business fraud.