President Trump appeared in court on Wednesday as E. Jean Carroll testified in a trial where the jury will decide how much Trump has to pay for his so-called ‘defamatory’ statements about her.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Clinton appointee, previously ruled that Trump is liable for defamatory statements he made about E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of rape.
In May 2022, a Manhattan jury reached a verdict in the E. Jean Carroll rape/defamation case.
In 2019, E. Jean Carroll alleged Donald Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
Trump has denied the allegations and called E. Jean Carroll a “whack job” who’s “not my type.”
In 2022, the jury found Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages (Trump is also appealing this case).
Trump blasted E. Jean. Carroll during a CNN town hall in May 2022.
“What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you’re playing hanky-panky in a dressing room?” Trump said, adding the accusation was a ‘fake’ and ‘made-up story.’
E. Jean Carroll went after Trump again and Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed with her lawyers and said Trump is liable for his statements.
Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in damages in the second defamation case which is unfolding in a Manhattan court this week.
Judge Kaplan threatened to kick Trump out of court on Wednesday – and Trump didn’t hold back.
“I would love it,” Trump said after Judge Kaplan warned him he would be removed from the court if he’s ‘disruptive.’
Here’s how the exchange went down per CNN:
Judge Lewis Kaplan warned former President Donald Trump that he could be removed from the courtroom if he’s disruptive following another complaint from E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer that Trump could be heard making comments during testimony.
Carroll lawyer Shawn Crowley said Trump could be heard commenting, saying things like, “It is a witch hunt” and “It really is a con job.”
Kaplan responded, “Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, which 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.”
Trump threw his hands up in response.
“I understand you’re probably eager for me to do that,” Kaplan said.
Reporters in the courtroom heard Trump say, “I would love it.”
“I know you would,” Kaplan said. “You just can’t control yourself in this circumstance apparently.”
