Trump Storms Out of Carroll Defamation Trial, Angers Judge

(Bloomberg) — Just minutes after New York writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer started her closing arguments Friday in the defamation trial against Donald Trump, the former president abruptly got up and stalked out of the courtroom.

He left after Carroll’s lawyer told a jury that Trump continued to defame the former Elle magazine columnist and acted “as if the laws don’t apply to him.” The departure drew the ire of US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who noted it for the record and ordered Trump’s lawyers to remain seated and not leave the courtroom.

The former president returned to court after about 45 minutes — to hear closing argument from his own lawyer — but his absence was a jarring start to the final day of the trial. Jurors have begun deliberations to determine how much, if anything, Trump must pay in damages for defaming Carroll when he denied her claim that he’d sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store in 1996.

Trump’s exit wasn’t even the first conflict of the day. He and his main attorney, Alina Habba, arrived late to court, which the judge sternly noted for the record. Habba then clashed with the judge before the jury was brought in, after he excluded a piece of evidence she wanted to include in her closing argument.

“Excuse me, you are not using that slide, period!” the judge said. When Habba stood to argue, the judge angrily threatened to put her behind bars if she persisted.

“Ms. Habba! You are on the verge of spending time in the lockup,” the judge said. “Sit down.”

Habba sat down and spoke with Trump quietly. Both appeared to be fuming. The former president left shortly after, and only returned following a break to listen to Habba make her closing statement on his behalf.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024, called the Carroll case “another scam” and a “political witch hunt.” He’s also facing the prospect of four criminal trials and awaiting a verdict in the civil fraud case New York state brought against him over valuation of assets. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which he claims are part of a broader plot by Democrats to undermine his candidacy.

‘Tsunami of Threats’

Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who isn’t related to the judge, told jurors in her closing statement that Trump had triggered a “tsunami” of threats from his followers. She said he “inspired a hateful mob” when he lashed out against Carroll in statements issued from the White House in June 2019. The judge has already ruled Trump defamed Carroll, leaving it to the jury to decide on damages.

“In this court and in our justice system you follow the law,” Roberta Kaplan said. “That’s how it’s supposed to work, even if you don’t like it, you’re supposed to follow the rules. It doesn’t depend on your politics,” she said. “Donald Trump acts as if these rules and laws don’t apply to him.”

She told jurors that after Trump was found liable for sexually abusing Carroll, he “doubled down” and continued to attack the writer on social media. He even did so after he left the courtroom last week, she said.

“This case is about punitive damages for what he has done and what he continues to do,” Roberta Kaplan said. “It’s about punishing him for the malicious nature of his attacks of her in 2019 and, right up to and including this trial.” she said. “This trial is about getting him to stop once and for all.”

Carroll, who had been an advice columnist for years, is seeking at least $12 million in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages for the damage she says Trump’s comments did to her reputation.

“Being known as a liar and a wackjob isn’t the same as being known as a trusted advice columnist,” her lawyer told the jury. “His lies and threats were heard far and wide.” The threats against Carroll “are exactly what he wanted to happen,” she said.

Before Trump walked out, he shook his head several times while Carroll’s lawyer was speaking. After he left, the former president posted several comments on social media lambasting the case against him and criticizing the judge, who he urged to “end this unAmerican injustice.”

Shawn Crowley, another one of Carroll’s lawyers, cited Trump’s abrupt exit in her closing comments to the jury. “You saw him stand up and walk out of the courtroom when Ms. Kaplan was speaking,” Crowley said. “Rules don’t apply to Donald Trump,” she said. “He gets to do whatever he wants and use his massive powerful platform to keep ruining her life.”

Clash With Judge

Habba, in her closing statement, continued to clash with the judge when she said that Trump has maintained his innocence because he never sexually assaulted Carroll.

“The president has not wavered, you know why? Because he is telling the truth,” Habba said.

Judge Kaplan interrupted her, telling jurors they should ignore Habba’s claims, noting another jury has already found Trump sexually assaulted the Carroll. “Ms. Habba, there may be consequences if you fail to follow the law,” the judge said.

Later, she repeated the claim, saying it was “not established” that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll. “It IS established, Ms. Habba,” the judge said.

Habba continued to try to assert that Trump was merely defending himself from false allegations. “In our country, you have a right to speak, a Constitutional right to speak,” she said.

Judge Kaplan, who’s ruled Trump’s statements were defamatory, cut her off, saying, “You have a Constitutional right to some kinds of speech and not others.”

Habba belittled Carroll’s motives for claiming her reputation was harmed. “She capitalized on her new-found fame,” and Carroll only promoted her claims to get a financial windfall from Trump, Habba said.

Habba said Trump shouldn’t be held responsible for the threats Carroll received from others. “This isn’t about President Trump and E. Jean Carroll,” she said. “This is about some people in their mother’s basement who will always be mean on social media.”

(Adds that jury has begun deliberations.)

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