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Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower for Manhattan federal courtroom for the second defamation trial in opposition to him, in New York Metropolis on Jan. 22, 2024.
Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Photographs
The intercourse assault defamation trial of former President Donald Trump in New York was postponed Monday when a juror referred to as in sick.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba informed Choose Lewis Kaplan that she was additionally feeling feverish and that at the least certainly one of her dad and mom had examined constructive for Covid-19. Habba examined destructive for the virus Monday morning, as did her co-counsel within the case, Michael Madaio, however Habba stated her babysitter additionally has signs.
Kaplan referred to as off the scheduled day of testimony after Trump and the plaintiff within the civil case, E. Jean Carroll, had each arrived at U.S. District Court docket in Manhattan. The decide made that call after providing Habba the choice of continuing with eight jurors, however she declined to take action.
Regardless of that, Trump’s ally, GOP Home Convention Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., later tweeted a response to information of the delay, calling it “blatant election interference!”
Trump, 77, and Carroll, 80, had been within the courtroom when Kaplan stated the trial can be postponed till Tuesday on the earliest. The postponement was prolonged later Monday to Wednesday.
Trump stood between Habba and Madaio, with none of them carrying a masks, as Kaplan agreed to the postponement.
The decide then introduced within the remaining jurors to elucidate the delay.
After the jurors had been excused, Habba informed Kaplan that she needed to name Trump as a witness on Wednesday.
“Tomorrow is the New Hampshire major, and I ask that his testimony be Wednesday,” Habba stated.
Trump is the Republican front-runner in that presidential major and within the general GOP nomination contest, with solely former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley remaining as a critical contender after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race Sunday.
Carroll’s lawyer Robert Kaplan, who isn’t associated to the decide, objected to delaying the trial past Tuesday.
“We wish to get this trial over,” stated Roberta Kaplan. “I believe we must always end tomorrow, Choose Kaplan.”
The decide replied, “I am not going to determine proper now.”
“Circumstances might find yourself with you getting what you requested for, or possibly not,” he added.
E. Jean Carroll, proper, together with her attorneys, leaves the Manhattan Federal Court docket for her civil defamation trial in opposition to former U.S. President Donald Trump after it was canceled for the day, in New York Metropolis on Jan. 22, 2024.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Photographs
The trial, which started final week, is being held solely to find out how a lot Trump should pay Carroll for defaming her in denying her accusation that he raped her in a New York division retailer within the mid-Nineties.
Trump was president on the time he first defamed Carroll in 2019.
One other jury in the identical courtroom final yr discovered Trump chargeable for sexually abusing Carroll within the assault, and for defaming her in late 2022 when he reiterated his denial of her allegations. That jury ordered him to pay $5 million to her within the case.
Trump is interesting that verdict.
Choose Kaplan dominated earlier than the present trial started that as a result of the primary trial had established that Trump defamed Carroll, there was no must litigate that query earlier than a second jury, leaving solely the query of damages to be determined by that panel.
Carroll’s attorneys are in search of at the least $10 million from Trump on this case.
Trump wrote greater than 40 posts about Carroll on his TruthSocial web site on Monday morning.
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