In a courtroom drama that unfolded during closing arguments in the E. Jean Carroll damages trial, former US President Donald Trump abruptly stormed out of court as lawyer Roberta Kaplan accused him of being a liar who believes "the rules don't apply to him."
Trump, who had taken the stand for the second time during this trial on Thursday (January 25), arrived approximately ten minutes late for Friday's proceedings, following his lawyer, Alina Habba.
NBC News reports that Judge Lewis Kaplan (no relation to Carroll's lawyer) reprimanded Trump's lawyer for her tardiness and later threatened to place her "in the lockup" after a dispute over displaying tweets. Kaplan asserted that he couldn't read the tweets and deemed them "entirely illegible."
After Trump's dramatic exit, Judge Kaplan stated: "The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom," during Roberta Kaplan's closing arguments.
Roberta Kaplan addressed the jury, asserting that Trump continued to engage in defamation throughout the trial, particularly regarding Carroll's sexual abuse allegations, which he dismissed as a "con job."
"Ms. Carroll did not make it up; the sexual assault happened, and his denials were all complete lies," declared the attorney.
Following Trump's departure, Kaplan told the jury that Trump believes his wealth and power allow him to treat Carroll as he wishes without facing consequences.
"Not at all," Ms Kaplan said. "Not even for 24 hours."
Kaplan emphasized that Trump cannot attack Carroll merely because he feels inclined to do so.
Furthermore, Judge Kaplan issued a not-so-veiled warning, reminding all present that only opposing counsel should speak during closings and that there should be no interruptions during the proceedings.
On Thursday, Trump provided brief but dramatic testimony, explaining that he had lashed out at Carroll in 2019 when she publicly shared her allegations because he felt the need "to defend myself, my family, and frankly the presidency." Judge Kaplan subsequently struck Trump's comment from the record, deeming it unresponsive to the question posed.
Kaplan had imposed strict limits on Trump's testimony due to his prior defamation liability concerning Carroll. Despite these constraints, Trump declared that he considered Carroll's accusations to be false.
Nevertheless, the facts in the case have been established that the former POTUS is barred from disputing that he sexually abused Carroll - and that the trial is focused purely on the damages owed.
The judge had made it clear before Trump's testimony that he would instruct the jury to disregard any statements challenging the prior verdict. "The jury will be instructed to say regardless of what he says today, it did occur, and that is the law," Kaplan affirmed.
In a previous case, a separate jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and for defaming her by referring to her as a "wack job" and labeling her claims a hoax. Kaplan employed this verdict to establish Trump's liability in the current case, which revolves around similar remarks Trump made while he was president in 2019. The current jury's sole responsibility is to determine the extent of compensation the writer should receive.
Carroll seeks a minimum of $10 million in compensatory damages for injury to her reputation, humiliation, and mental anguish in both her public and private life. Additionally, she seeks unspecified punitive damages to penalize Trump for malicious actions and to discourage him and others from further defamation. The trial has exposed numerous instances of Trump's ongoing derogatory remarks about Carroll to reporters and on social media since the prior $5 million verdict.
An expert witness testified on Carroll's behalf, estimating the cost of repairing her reputation alone to be between $7 million and $12 million. Carroll's legal team is also expected to seek significant damages for the emotional distress she has endured. They are likely to request substantial punitive damages, arguing that a substantial judgment is necessary to dissuade Trump from continuing to denigrate her, as he has done repeatedly since the trial began on January 16. Trump posted about Carroll on his Truth Social website around three dozen times on Monday, when the trial was delayed due to Covid-related issues.
Trump's defense contends that Carroll should receive no damages or at most a "nominal" amount because he is not responsible for the online vitriol and death threats that followed his posts and ridicule of Carroll.