Trump returns to court in New York: defamation trial begins this Tuesday

The day after his overwhelming victory in Iowa, Donald Trump is expected this Tuesday for a defamation trial in New York filed by a writer who already won another trial for sexual assault last year.

The former Republican president, who aspires to return to the White House in the November elections, announced last Thursday his intention to go to court to defend himself against accusations of E. Jean Carroll, 80, former columnist for Elle magazine, who claims $10 million for damages to her professional reputation.

“I have never seen that woman in my life (…) I have no idea who she is,” Donald Trump repeated last week about the writer, whom he called a “liar” and “stupid” after being convicted. to pay him, in another trial in May of last year, more than 2 million dollars for sexual assault that occurred in 1996 and almost 3 million also for another defamation case in October 2022.

Trump has appealed the ruling.

The trial, which begins this Tuesday with jury selection, focuses on statements made by the 77-year-old Republican in June 2019, after the journalist mentioned the rape accusations in a magazine article.

At that time the then president assured that Carroll “wasn't his type” and that he had made up the whole story to “sell his new book.”

The trial suffered delays due to procedural disputes.

In a sign of the tensions surrounding the new trial, The judge has instructed that the identity of the jury members be kept secret.

In an attempt to prevent the hearing from turning into a political rally, investigating judge Lewis Kaplan made it clear that “the only thing at stake in the trial is the damage caused to Ms. Carroll by the statements” that she considered “defamatory,” “false” and “malicious.”

Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, wrote to the judge last Friday to warn him of the risk that the Republican's presence would generate “chaos” at the hearing.

According to a document in the court file, Trump requested a postponement of the trial so he could attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, on Thursday in Florida.

But the judge denied the request, reminding him that on Wednesday night he was scheduled to participate in a rally in New Hampshire, in the second date of the primaries in his desire to return to the White House from which Democrat Joe Biden evicted him almost four years ago.

With Tuesday's, The Republican magnate has at least six pending civil and criminal court dates, but so far it does not seem that they have made a dent in his political career.

This Monday, Trump easily beat his main opponents within his party, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, in the first meeting of the primaries. held in the freezing state of Iowa, while waiting for the New Hampshire appointment on Wednesday.

With his usual skill, the Republican has transformed each accusation and each court appearance into a political forum, multiplying the insults and accusations against prosecutors and judges whom he accuses of a “witch hunt” to prevent him from winning in November. “They are not coming for me, they are coming against you (…) I am simply in the middle of the road,” he writes in capital letters on his social networks to his followers.

In the midst of the primary campaign, this trial could once again raise the question of Trump's behavior with women, He has been accused of sexual assault on several occasions, although he has never been convicted criminally.

AFP