Former President Donald Trump said he will "probably attend" the trial in the civil defamation case brought against him by E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her in the 1990s and then defaming her when he called the allegations a "hoax."
Trump told reporters while visiting his golf course in Ireland that he probably will make an appearance at the trial "to confront this." While the judge ruled that the former president does not have to testify in the trial, he could choose to do so.
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“I have to leave Ireland, and I have to leave Scotland, where I have great properties,” Trump told reporters from a golf course in Ireland. “I have to leave early. I don’t have to, but I choose to.
“It’s a disgrace that it’s allowed to happen,” he continued. “It’s false accusations against a rich guy, or in my case, against a famous, rich, and political person that’s leading the polls by 40 points.”
Trump's lawyers have made headlines for their actions during the trial. On Tuesday, they pulled their expert witness for the defense.
His attorneys have also requested a mistrial, alleging the judge has made "pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings" in the case in a letter filed to the court on Monday.
Trump has repeatedly denied all of the allegations and did so again on Thursday, calling Carroll a "disgrace.
“I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me, and I have a judge who is extremely hostile,” Trump said. “And I’m going to go back, and I’m going to confront this. This woman is a disgrace, and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our country.”
In 2019, Carroll put forward allegations that the former president raped her in a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s. She is now suing him for civil battery and defamation to receive unspecified damages.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in March that the Access Hollywood tape, known for catching Trump on a hot microphone, could be used as evidence. That tape was played for the jury in court on Thursday.
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The trial is expected to continue into next week. While he will not face jail time, the jury could rule that Trump has to pay Carroll damages, potentially millions of dollars.
As the front-runner for the Republican primary in 2024, a guilty verdict could be particularly significant as it will be the first time Trump has been held legally responsible for sexual assault despite dozens of women accusing him of that and other sexual misconduct over the years.