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Approximately 20 minutes after entering the courtroom, Donald Trump abruptly left during closing statements of a civil case regarding the amount of compensation he owes E Jean Carroll for continuously defaming her.
The ex-president appeared in a federal court in Manhattan on Friday morning following a brief testimony in his defense on Thursday afternoon. He then proceeded to make further accusations and potentially slanderous remarks about the former Elle magazine writer.
During her final remarks, Ms. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, informed the jurors that the ex-president behaves as if he is exempt from following the laws.
Even after being held accountable for slander and sexual misconduct in a $5 million jury decision, he continued to launch attacks, she pointed out.
Ms Kaplan responded, saying that she would not consider it for any amount of time, including 24 hours.
After arriving late, Mr. Trump got up from the defense table where he was sitting next to his attorney, Alina Habba, and left the hearing.
Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that the record shows that Mr. Trump stood up and left the courtroom.
On January 26, Donald Trump departs from Trump Tower and heads to a federal court for the final arguments in a defamation case that will determine the amount he must pay to E Jean Carroll.
A jury in New York City will decide the amount of money that Ms. Carroll is owed, as she was repeatedly defamed by Mr. Trump. He denied ever meeting her, called her a liar, and refused to acknowledge the sexual assault she claims occurred in a department store in the 1990s. Ms. Carroll is seeking millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages on top of the previous verdict that found Mr. Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
The details of the case have been confirmed and Mr. Trump is unable to contest the fact that he committed sexual abuse against her. As a result, the trial will solely focus on determining the amount of damages owed.
Instead of using the trial for its intended purpose, Mr. Trump has used it to further spread his false and damaging statements. He has also used it as a platform for his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, which heavily relies on his various lawsuits and criminal charges to portray him as a target of an unfounded conspiracy theory about a corrupt justice system.
Shortly before his scheduled federal court appearance on Friday, he uploaded a video to his Truth Social profile in which he alleged that Ms. Carroll was dishonest and working as a paid political agent.
“I am unaware of the identity or origins of this individual,” he stated. “This appears to be another fraudulent scheme and a politically-motivated attack, and we must take action to combat it. We cannot allow our nation to descend into chaos. This is unacceptable.”
Last year, while at a civil fraud trial involving the Trump Organization, Mr. Trump suddenly departed the courtroom when the judge refused to grant his lawyers’ repeated requests to dismiss the case entirely.
At that point, the ex-president raised his hands in exasperation and suddenly departed from the courtroom, muttering “unbelievable.”
Source: independent.co.uk
