The issue of Trump's testimony hinges on Carroll's defamation case

USA

Now that a Manhattan jury will soon decide how much money, if any, Donald J. Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019 when she first accused him of a decades-old locker room rape of a department store. The question of whether Mr Trump will testify still looms when the trial resumes on Monday.

Mr. Trump said on Sunday that he would appear in court, and the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, is likely to ask him directly whether he will take the stand.

Mr. Trump, 77, has suggested he wanted to testify in the civil trial, which begins its second week, and in court filings, lawyers for Mr. Trump and Ms. Carroll have debated the parameters of what the former president should be. allowed to mention.

Last week, Trump alternated his appearances at the trial with trips to New Hampshire. The state will hold its presidential primaries on Tuesday and Mr Trump will be seeking the Republican nomination this weekend with rallies in Concord, Manchester and Rochester.

But politics does not stop at the courtroom door. The former president has viewed his court appearances as an opportunity to reach voters, even holding a press conference to complain that he is the one who has been harmed.

“They are arming law enforcement at a level like never before,” Mr. Trump said at the rally in Rochester on Sunday night, adding: “You know where I'm going to be. I don't have to be there, but I want to be there, because otherwise I won't get a fair chance. I am going to appear in court.”

Mr. Trump was not present at an earlier trial of the 80-year-old Ms. Carroll, in which a jury last spring ordered him to pay $5 million in damages after finding him liable for sexually assaulting her in the locker room midway through the nineties. for defaming her in a post on his Truth Social website in 2022.

Here's what you need to know about Monday's proceedings:

Judge Kaplan ruled that if Mr. Trump takes his stand, he may not challenge Ms. Carroll's version of events, as he often does by discrediting social media posts, campaign speeches and news conferences. Mr. Trump has long claimed that Ms. Carroll is a liar who made up her rape story to sell a book. Ms. Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in damages.
Ms. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan, asked the judge to ensure that if Mr. Trump testifies, he stays within the bounds of the jury's narrow subject matter — financial damages — and the accuracy of Ms. Carroll's account not disputed and the matter not contested. test 'in a circus'.
Mr. Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, said that even with the restrictions placed on her client, Mr. Trump “could still provide significant testimony in his defense.” Ms. Habba said Trump “should be allowed to testify about the circumstances surrounding his statements” and whether he acted out of “hatred or ill will.”
Ms. Habba said Mr. Trump should be allowed to refute evidence that Ms. Carroll's lawyers had said they wanted to introduce — the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Mr. Trump bragged about grabbing women by their side genitals, as well as the testimony of Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who have said they were also sexually assaulted by Mr. Trump. On Saturday, Ms. Carroll's attorney, Ms. Kaplan, told the judge that she would not introduce the Access Hollywood tape or the testimony of witnesses, “to keep the issues in focus during this trial.”