Tightly constrained in his testimony, Trump was cut off before every attempted speech and complained on the way out: 'This is not America'
Donald Trump's long-anticipated testimony on Thursday in the second defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll was a blink-and-you-might-miss-it affair.
Strictly limited in his testimony before trial as a result of a prior $5 million sexual abuse and defamation verdict last year, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba was allowed three questions. Most of the former president's answers were stricken after the first few words, and he left the courtroom after his three minutes were up in a huff.
Before his testimony began, senior U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan instructed Habba that her client could no longer deny the sexual abuse allegations established in last year's trial — and asked her if she told her client that.
"Yes, your honor," Habba replied.
"And you say that because you personally made him aware of those confines?" Kaplan said.
Trump then loudly interjected to his lawyer: “I never met this woman,” going into a side monologue.
"Mr. Trump, keep your voice down," Kaplan said.
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Asked if Trump will say anything other than proffer, Habba remarked she doesn't have a "crystal ball,“ and Trump tried to speak again.
"Sorry Mr. Trump, you’re interrupting these proceedings by talking loudly while your counsel is talking,” Kaplan said again.
Habba was permitted three questions, before the jury entered the room and she declared: "The defense calls President Donald Trump." The former president promptly took the oath.
Asked whether he stood by the first deposition, Trump replied: "100 percent, yes."
After Habba asked if Trump denied the allegations because Carroll made the claim, Trump replied: "Exactly right," before trailing off: "She said something. I considered it a false accusation." Carroll's lawyer then objected. Kaplan sustained it and struck the second part of the answer.
Asked if he wanted to hurt Carroll, Trump said: "No. I wanted to defend myself, my family, and frankly, the presidency," prompting another objection. Kaplan struck that too, after the brief response in the negative. With that, his direct examination was over, and his cross was similarly brief. Carroll's lead attorney Roberta Kaplan noted that Trump did not take up the opportunity to testify at the first trial, and the former president agreed that was true.
Habba tried to mitigate the blow by noting that Trump followed the advice of his then-attorney Joseph Tacopina, but the judge ruled the question impermissible. With that, Trump's latest turn on the stand concluded.
On his way out, Trump sneered at the spectators in the gallery and said, "It's not America. It's not America. This is not America."
Before the brief testimony, Judge Kaplan told Trump that it's well-established law that "disappointed litigants" cannot use a second trial as a do-over for the first.
Last spring, a prior jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s — and then defamed the “Ask E. Jean” columnist via his denigrating denials.
As a result of that judgment, Trump has been barred from disputing the allegations against him on the witness stand, as he does frequently on social media and the campaign trail. Instead, Trump can only testify to information suggesting that Carroll has not been damaged by statements he made about the case when he was president, which could make him liable for millions more. The jury only must determine how much more in damages is appropriate for Trump to pay Carroll.
Originally slated for Monday, Trump’s testimony faced repeated delays, building dramatic tension for another turn on the witness stand on Thursday afternoon.
Several Trump-world notables were on hand to witness Trump’s lightning-speed testimony, including his longtime legal advisor Boris Epshteyn, his personal assistant turned classified documents case co-defendant Walt Nauta, and attorney Susan Necheles, who represents the ex-president in his hush money-related prosecution. Nauta passed along water bottles to his Trump-tied peers seated in the gallery.
Before Trump took the stand in the afternoon, his defense case began with testimony from Carol Martin, who testified in the previous trial that Carroll confided in her that Trump raped her shortly after the incident. She was one of two women who offered such testimony last April, which ultimately persuaded the jury.
On Thursday, Habba called Martin back to the witness stand to press her on messages suggesting that Carroll’s newfound fame had gone to her head. Martin acknowledged that she once likened Carroll to “Santa at the Christmas parade” and said that she was “loving the adulation.”
Asked if Carroll was enjoying the attention, Martin hedged: "I think that she is adapting to this change in her life.”
“'Enjoying' is a multifaceted word," she added.
Martin ascribed those statements to her being “passionate” and not knowing about Carroll’s mind.
Asked whether Martin still believes Carroll was “loving the adulation” of the defamation litigation, Martin responded: “I don’t think that at all.”
Trump and Martin's testimony closed off the defense case.