NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump could return to a New York courtroom Thursday to defend himself against a lawsuit seeking more than $10 million for things he said about advice columnist E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault.
Trump’s first visit to court on Monday ended abruptly because a juror was ill. The trial has been suspended since then.
Carroll’s lawyers are expected to finish presenting their case in the morning. If everything goes as planned, Trump could be on the witness stand before a lunch break. Trump is fresh off big victories in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday and the Iowa caucus last week.
Carroll, 80, testified at a trial last year in the same courtroom that she was attacked by Trump in the dressing room of a midtown luxury department store in spring 1996. A jury last year agreed that it happened and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation.
Trump denies ever knowing Carroll and says she made up her claims to sell a memoir. He did not testify at or attend last year’s trial, a decision he now says he regrets.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that last year’s jury conclusions meant that a new jury chosen last week only needs to decide how much more money, if any, Trump owes Carroll for disparaging her and calling her a liar in 2019 while he was president.
Thus, Kaplan has ruled, Trump will be barred from testifying about subjects that would conflict with last year’s verdict. He will not, for instance, be permitted to say she made up her sexual assault claims or that she was motivated by her book deal or for political reasons.
Trump, 77, attended the trial two of three days last week and let the jury know — through muttered comments and gestures like shaking his head — that he was disgusted with the case against him.
Trump has already tested the judge’s patience. After he complained to his lawyers about a “witch hunt” and a “con job” within earshot of jurors, Kaplan threatened to eject…
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