Justice
Second defamation trial: Trump rejects allegations
Disturbing opinions expressed during the trial: Former US President Donald Trump appears to be using the proceedings for his election campaign. photo
© Yuki Iwamura/AP/dpa
The second trial against Donald Trump is entering the home stretch: author E. Jean Carroll is demanding more than ten million dollars in compensation, while Trump is using the proceedings for his election campaign.
“I just wanted to defend myself, my family and, frankly, the presidency.” In addition, Trump, who had been called as a defense witness by his lawyer Alina Habba, reiterated that he rejected Carroll’s allegations.
Both sides had previously explained their positions again and questioned witnesses. Trump’s lawyers had also once again called for the proceedings to be stopped, but Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected this. The trial was postponed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday due to several cases of illness. According to Judge Kaplan, the proceedings could be concluded and handed over to the jury as early as Friday.
Accusation: Sexual abuse in 1996
This is the 80-year-old Carroll’s second trial against Trump. At the end of the first trial in May, a New York jury found it proven that Trump had attacked Carroll in a luxury New York department store in 1996, sexually abused him and later slandered him. The jury then awarded the writer compensation of five million dollars (around 4.65 million euros).
Because she also viewed Trump’s subsequent comments as defamatory, Carroll then sued again. Even before the start of the second trial, Judge Kaplan agreed with her and ruled that further comments by Trump were defamatory. The jury now only has to decide on the amount of compensation that the ex-president must pay to the woman. Carroll is asking for more than $10 million.
Trump had already appeared in person several times in the second trial – unlike the first, where he was completely absent – and had attracted attention through numerous commenting opinions, which is why the judge had already threatened to exclude him. The 77-year-old is considered the Republicans’ most promising candidate in the presidential elections scheduled for November. However, he currently has to deal with the courts in numerous different cases. Trump often uses the court dates as a kind of campaign appearance.