The judge presiding over E. Jean Carroll’s second defamation trial engaged in a “very testy exchange” with Donald Trump’s lawyer when she requested an adjournment or delay in the proceedings of the case.
He also threatened to throw the real estate mogul-turned-politician out of his court for being “disruptive.”
Attorney Alina Habba asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday, Jan. 16, whether her client could attend his mother-in-law Amalija Knavs ‘s funeral, a move that, if granted, would potentially delay the trial. Kaplan promptly denied the request.
Politico reporter Erica Orden recorded the back-and-forth on her X profile.
“The application is denied,” the judge asked. “I will hear no further argument on it.”
Habba: "I don't like to be spoken to that way, your honor." She continued to ask for an adjournment, at which point Kaplan cut her off again:
— erica orden (@eorden) January 17, 2024
"It’s denied. Sit down."
Habba continued to push her request but was shut down immediately by the bench, who said, “None. Do you understand that word? Sit down.”
“I don’t like to be spoken to that way, your honor, and we are going to be here for several days,” Habba said and continued to inquire about the adjournment. But Kaplan did not budge on his decision, telling her, “It’s denied. Sit down.”
This is not the first time that Habba has asked the judge to push the trial back, and each time, her request has been met with a rejection.
This is the second trial for Carroll vs. Trump.
At the crux of the case is an allegation by Carroll, who was a columnist for Elle Magazine from 1993 through 2019, becoming one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing, alleges that Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman store’s dressing room in New York City during the 1990s.
In May, a jury ruled in Carroll’s favor, ordering the former president to pay her $5 million for sexual abuse and defamation.
Despite this, Trump maintains his innocence and publicly accuses Carroll of lying.
The current trial is about claims Trump is committing ongoing defamation of the writer and will determine if the court will award additional financial damages to Carroll.
On Wednesday, Jan. 17, Kaplan threatened to kick Trump out of the court because he was making “disruptive” comments that Carroll’s lawyers could hear while the journalist was on the stand.
“To have the President of the United States, one of the most powerful persons on earth, call me a liar for three days and say it 26 times, I counted them, it ended the world I had been living in, and I lived in a new world,” Carroll testified.
“I am here because Donald Trump assaulted me,” she continued. “And when I wrote about it, he lied, and he shattered my reputation.”
“He lied last month, on Sunday, yesterday, and I want my reputation back,” she said before noting that she is now 80 years old and has spent the last 50 years trying to rebuild her reputation, one destroyed when the powerful Trump assaulted her, and she spoke up.
She also spoke about the ongoing harassment she has experienced, even recently on social media, “Yesterday I opened up Twitter, and it said, ‘Hey, lady, you’re a fraud.’ ”
Trump said while Carroll was testifying, “This really is a con job.”
Kaplan agreed with Carroll’s counsel and told him to “keep his voice down.”
“Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited, and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, and if he disregards court orders,” Kaplan said after she dismissed the predominately male jury for lunch, according to CNBC.
“Mr. Trump I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial, I understand you are very eager for me to do that,” the judge said.
Rebelliously, Trump responded, raising his hands in the air and shaking them, “I would love it. I would love it.”
“I know you would because you just can’t control yourself in this circumstance,” the judge shot right back at him.
After the proceeding, Trump took to his social media and ranted about the treatment he received from the judge.
He wrote, “I feel an obligation to be at every moment of this ridiculous trial because we have a seething and hostile Clinton-appointed Judge, Lewis Kaplan, who suffers from a major case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
