The unexpected strike came as lawyers for E. Jean Carroll asked jurors to determine how much Mr. Trump owed the plaintiffs.
Former President Donald Trump went on a rant during closing arguments in his defamation trial, pleading with a jury to award him at least $24 million in damages for the “storm of hate” he provoked.
Carroll, 80, sued Trump in June 2019 while he was in the White House, denying her claims that he raped her in the mid-1990s and seeking at least $10 million in damages for defaming her. ing. She said President Trump's comments exposed her to continuous attacks for four and a half years, including death threats.
In closing arguments Friday in Manhattan federal court, Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told jurors that Trump should be punished for persistently lying about her client and tarnishing his reputation as a truth-telling journalist. I asked.
“We all have to follow the law,” Kaplan said. “But Donald Trump is acting as if these rules and laws don't apply to him.
“This trial is about stopping him once and for all,” she added. “Now is the time to make him pay for it.”
Just minutes after Mr. Kaplan began his argument, Mr. Trump suddenly stood up from his bench and walked towards the exit, pausing to look around the packed courtroom as Secret Service agents jumped in pursuit of him. Ta.
After Trump's unexpected exit, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is not related to Carroll's lawyers, spoke, briefly interrupting closing arguments and saying, “The record shows that Trump stood up and walked out of the courtroom.'' “It will be reflected in what happened.”
Trump then returned to court to hear attorney Alina Habba argue that Trump should not be forced to pay Carroll for comments that provoked hate messages from strangers. .
Haba showed jurors a video in which he said last year's jury verdict finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll was a “disgrace” and “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in history.” .
“Do you know why he didn't move?” Mr Haba asked the jury. “Because it's true.”
The jury will now consider whether to award compensatory or punitive damages, at what level, in order to prevent the defamation from happening again.
“Trump is not a victim”
Republican Trump is aiming to retake the White House in the November election, where he is expected to face current Democratic President Joe Biden, who defeated him in 2020.
The race will be close, even though Trump faces 91 felonies in four criminal indictments, including two for allegedly trying to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. It is expected.
He has sought to capitalize on his legal woes for his campaign, claiming he is the victim of a biased prosecutor and an unfair judicial system.
Carroll's defense team urged jurors to ignore it.
“This is not a campaign rally,” Sean Crowley, another of Carroll's attorneys, said after Mr. Hubba's speech.
“Donald Trump is not a victim. This is her [Carroll’s] life. Please help her get it back. ”
Jurors in the current trial will decide how much Mr. Trump owes Mr. Carroll for damaging her reputation, and whether they will impose punitive damages to prevent him from defaming her again. All you have to decide is whether or not to do so.
A compensation expert testified that the reputational damage alone was between $7.3 million and $12.1 million.
Attorney Roberta Kaplan added that “extraordinarily large” punitive damages may also be needed to stop the billionaire president.
“Donald Trump may not care about the law, and he certainly doesn't care about the truth, but he cares about money,” she said.