Angela Weiss / AFP
E. Jean Carroll, Donald Trump at the defamation hearing on January 25, 2024.
United States – Three questions, less than five minutes. Donald Trump this Thursday, January 25, author E. Defended himself in a libel trial brought by Jean Carroll in New York, but his freedom of speech was strictly limited by the judge to avoid any verbal slips.
In a tense atmosphere, facing nine judges and his accusers, who accused him of rape and convicted him in civil court of sexual assault in 2023, the former president of the United States was authorized to give only yes or no answers. Three questions asked by his lawyer Alina Habba.
The big favorite in the Republican primary for the 2024 presidential election was only able to confirm, “100%”, his testimony during the proceedings. And he signaled with that “yes” That he made comments targeted by the complaint in June 2019, in a book E. was done by Jean Carroll.
“She said something I thought was wrong.”He tried to elaborate, before Judge Louis Kaplan immediately cut him off. “Mr. Trump, lower your voice”He had told her some time ago, when he was laying the floor of the testimony on the lawyer.
“This is not America”
On Wednesday evening, on his Truth social platform, Donald Trump e. Launched no fewer than 37 written attacks against Jean Carroll, whom he continued to defame and insult for months. “crazy”at“Bogus Story”That he has “Never seen in (his) life”.
Visibly frustrated and angry, Donald Trump, 77, shook his head furiously as he testified. In total, his defense lasted 3 minutes, according to the Associated Press Agency. “This is not America”he said several times as he left the courtroom in Manhattan federal court.
From January 16, E. A civil trial is underway against Jean Carroll, 80, a former columnist for the American edition of the magazine. She, to a former president of the United States. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been declared the winner in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries and appears well on his way to securing the party’s nomination for the November election.
The journalist demanded 10 million dollars
In May 2023, the author was awarded $5 million in civil court damages for sexually assaulting her in the fitting room of a New York department store in 1996, and was the first to be sued for defamation for comments made in 2022. Unanimously by a popular jury.
But she already filed a complaint for defamation in 2019, when Donald Trump, in order to deny the allegations of rape, claimed that she had invented everything. “Sell a new book”. The process was delayed but this second trial was maintained and E. Jean Carroll is suing for more than $10 million in moral and professional damages.
Judge Caplan, who presided over the first trial, ordered that the second focus only on Donald Trump’s comments and not the rape allegations. Before the jury retired to deliberate, E. Proceedings of the lawsuit filed by Jean Carroll are scheduled to conclude with closing arguments on Friday.
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