NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 11: Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his lawyers Christopher Kise and Alina Habba attend the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on January 11, 2024 in New York City. Trump won't make his own closing arguments after his lawyers objected to Judge Arthur Engoron's insistence that Trump stay within the bounds of "relevant, material facts that are in evidence" of the case. Prosecutors allege that Trump and his two sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump conspired to inflate his net worth on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to secure loans. New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued seeking $370 million in damages. (Photo by Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images)
On Thursday afternoon, former President Donald Trump returned to court to take a stand in the defamation lawsuit brought against him by author E. Jean Carroll.
Trump’s testimony was delayed earlier after a Covid-19 scare.
Carroll’s lawyers wrapped their case on Thursday morning, where they presented evidence, which included footage of a deposition Trump gave in a separate civil fraud case.
When Trump took the stand, his lawyer asked whether he had intended to hurt Carroll with his statements.
“No,” Mr. Trump said. “I just wanted to defend myself, my family and, frankly, the presidency.”
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, immediately objected.
Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed, saying, “Everything after ‘no’ is stricken — the jury will disregard it.”
Trump was briefly cross-examined and then left the stand after just three minutes.
The lawsuit against Trump centers around defamatory statements made by the 45th president, in which he denied sexually assaulting and ever meeting her. Trump twice has been found liable for defamation.
Carroll said that she bumped into Trump in the mid-1990s, and the two spent time together in Bergdorf Goodman, a New York department store, where Trump then attacked Carroll in a dressing room. Last year, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation.
The jury has also been shown evidence of murder and rape threats that Carroll has received since 2019, when Trump started attacking her in social media posts.
Last week, Judge Kaplan warned Trump that he would remove him from the courtroom after repeated outbursts. Trump responded: “I would love that!”
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