Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower for Manhattan federal court
Donald Trump’s motorcade has departed Trump Tower and is now en route to Manhattan federal court where he will voluntarily attend a civil trial to decide how much money in damages, if any, the former president must pay E. Jean Carroll for his 2019 defamatory statements about her sexual assault allegations.
He is expected back in New Hampshire this evening for a campaign rally on the eve of the primary.
This will be Trump’s third to the courtroom visit during this trial. E Jean. Carroll’s team is still presenting their case.
18 min ago
How Trump responded when the judge threatened to throw him out of the courtroom
From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell
Former President Donald Trump sits with arms folded beside his attorney Alina Habba in the Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday. Elizabeth Williams via AP
Donald Trump clashed in court last week with yet another judge overseeing one of his trials, after the judge in his civil defamation case threatened to remove the former president for making comments that could be overheard by the jury while his accuser was testifying.
E. Jean Carroll's attorney Shawn Crowley complained about Trump’s audible commentary, and Judge Lewis Kaplan he told Trump to “take special care” to keep his voice down while speaking to his attorneys so he could not be heard by the jury.
Crowley said again Trump could still be heard – saying things like, “It is a witch hunt” and “it really is a con job."
Kaplan responded that Trump "has the right to be present here" but said "that right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive," noting he has the right to throw him out if that happens. Trump threw his hands up in response, and Kaplan said, “I understand you’re probably eager for me to do that."
Why does it matter: The exchange with Kaplan was merely the latest in a string of Trump’s in-court fights during two civil trials in New York over the past several months, episodes that offer a preview of what’s to come if any of the former president’s criminal trials are held this year as he runs for president.
25 min ago
Catch up: Here's what E. Jean Carroll said in her testimony during the Trump defamation trial
From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell
E. Jean Carroll is questioned on the stand at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York on Thursday. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Carroll in her testimony last week recounted how Trump’s 2019 statements about her led to threatening messages and upended her sense of safety.
The attacks started “instantaneously,” Carroll said as she described several safety precautions she’s taken out of fear due to the threatening messages, including hiring security at both trials and keeping a gun at her bedside. “I bought bullets for the gun I had inherited from my father,” Carroll said.
Carroll’s voice broke as she described another violent message she received after the trial last year.
“When a woman sees the words, we can’t help but think of the image. And so, he wants me to stick a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger,” she said, reading the email. “And I imagine that many of us now can picture that.”
She said she was attacked on Twitter, Facebook, on new blogs and messages. “As I said, it was a new world. I had left the world of facts, a lovely world, and I was living in a new universe,” she said.
During cross-examination, Carroll testified there were about five hours between when her 2019 story published and when Trump made a statement denying the allegations, in response to questioning from Trump’s attorney Alina Habba. Carroll confirmed she received harassing social media messages before Trump made any statements.
Habba also pressed Carroll about deleting or removing the threatening messages when she received them, making a motion for a mistrial because of the deleted messages, which was promptly denied by Kaplan. Habba argued in her opening statement last week that Carroll’s story fueled the harassment, not Trump’s denials.
Trump on trial: The trial that will decide how much money in damages Donald Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll resumes today. On Thursday, the jury heard an expert witness testify it could cost up to $12.1 million to repair her reputation with those who likely believed the former president. Trump has been splitting his time between the campaign trail and the courtroom.
Who is E. Jean Carroll? Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim. Carroll is seeking more than $10 million in damages.
A judge already found Trump liable: In a separate trial last year, a civil jury found Trump sexually assaulted Carroll and defamed her in 2022 statements. Judge Lewis Kaplan said that the verdict would carry over to this defamation trial.
Donald Trump’s motorcade has departed Trump Tower and is now en route to Manhattan federal court where he will voluntarily attend a civil trial to decide how much money in damages, if any, the former president must pay E. Jean Carroll for his 2019 defamatory statements about her sexual assault allegations.
He is expected back in New Hampshire this evening for a campaign rally on the eve of the primary.
This will be Trump’s third to the courtroom visit during this trial. E Jean. Carroll’s team is still presenting their case.
Former President Donald Trump sits with arms folded beside his attorney Alina Habba in the Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday. Elizabeth Williams via AP
Donald Trump clashed in court last week with yet another judge overseeing one of his trials, after the judge in his civil defamation case threatened to remove the former president for making comments that could be overheard by the jury while his accuser was testifying.
E. Jean Carroll's attorney Shawn Crowley complained about Trump’s audible commentary, and Judge Lewis Kaplan he told Trump to “take special care” to keep his voice down while speaking to his attorneys so he could not be heard by the jury.
Crowley said again Trump could still be heard – saying things like, “It is a witch hunt” and “it really is a con job."
Kaplan responded that Trump "has the right to be present here" but said "that right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive," noting he has the right to throw him out if that happens. Trump threw his hands up in response, and Kaplan said, “I understand you’re probably eager for me to do that."
Why does it matter: The exchange with Kaplan was merely the latest in a string of Trump’s in-court fights during two civil trials in New York over the past several months, episodes that offer a preview of what’s to come if any of the former president’s criminal trials are held this year as he runs for president.
E. Jean Carroll is questioned on the stand at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York on Thursday. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Carroll in her testimony last week recounted how Trump’s 2019 statements about her led to threatening messages and upended her sense of safety.
The attacks started “instantaneously,” Carroll said as she described several safety precautions she’s taken out of fear due to the threatening messages, including hiring security at both trials and keeping a gun at her bedside. “I bought bullets for the gun I had inherited from my father,” Carroll said.
Carroll’s voice broke as she described another violent message she received after the trial last year.
“When a woman sees the words, we can’t help but think of the image. And so, he wants me to stick a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger,” she said, reading the email. “And I imagine that many of us now can picture that.”
She said she was attacked on Twitter, Facebook, on new blogs and messages. “As I said, it was a new world. I had left the world of facts, a lovely world, and I was living in a new universe,” she said.
During cross-examination, Carroll testified there were about five hours between when her 2019 story published and when Trump made a statement denying the allegations, in response to questioning from Trump’s attorney Alina Habba. Carroll confirmed she received harassing social media messages before Trump made any statements.
Habba also pressed Carroll about deleting or removing the threatening messages when she received them, making a motion for a mistrial because of the deleted messages, which was promptly denied by Kaplan. Habba argued in her opening statement last week that Carroll’s story fueled the harassment, not Trump’s denials.
