On Sunday, former President Donald Trump declined his last chance to testify in a civil trial where a longtime advice columnist accused him of rape.
Trump, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, was given the opportunity to submit a request to testify until Sunday at 5:00 p.m., per U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. There was no submission.
Trump’s Absence During Carroll’s Trial
Not surprisingly, this occurred. During the two weeks that the trial has been taking place in Manhattan, Trump has been absent. Author E. Jean Carroll testified for multiple days, reiterating allegations she first made public in her 2019 autobiography.
She is seeking millions of dollars in damages, including both compensatory and punitive damages.
The jury has also viewed extensive portions of an October deposition that was recorded on video. In this deposition, Trump vehemently denied committing rape on Carroll and even knowing her during their relationship.
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Defense Presents No Witnesses
The attorneys were scheduled to present their closing arguments on Monday, and it is anticipated that the jury will begin deliberations on Tuesday without Trump’s testimony.
On Thursday, the prosecution presented their closing arguments, and shortly thereafter, Joe Tacopina, Trump’s attorney, did the same for the defense. He presented no witnesses.
He did not ask for additional time for President Trump to decide whether or not to testify. After the Sunday deadline, Tacopina declined to comment via email on the situation.
Judge Kaplan granted President Trump additional time to reconsider his decision and make a request to testify; however, the judge did not guarantee that he would grant such a request to reopen the defense case so that Trump could testify.
Kaplan mentioned at the time that he had heard about Thursday news reports in which Trump was quoted as saying that he would probably attend the trial while on his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland. This observation was made by Kaplan in response to the news reports.
Kaplan, who was appointed to his position by former President Bill Clinton, was described by Trump as an extremely hostile and rough judge who doesn’t like me very much.
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