by A visibly frustrated Donald Trump testified for less than five minutes in his defamation trial Thursday after being barred from denying he sexually abused E Jean Carroll.
The former president, 77, was asked a handful of narrow questions on the stand after Judge Lewis Kaplan spent more than 20 minutes questioning his lawyer Alina Habba about what she planned to ask, saying he would not allow “lawsuits disappointing” to do. .
Mr Trump faced trial last year when he was found guilty of sexually assaulting Ms Carroll, 80, in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room almost 30 years ago.
After a lengthy back-and-forth between Mr. Kaplan and Ms. Habba, the former said that Mr. Trump was allowed to go on the stand but told Ms. Habba that she could not ask “open-ended” questions.
Mr Habba asked Mr Trump if he was standing by his October 2022 deposition video, played to the jury earlier, in which he denied the allegations.
Mr Trump replied solemnly: “100 per cent, yes”.
‘This is not America’
Ms Habba then questioned Mr Trump about his comments in 2019 in response to allegations of sexual assault by Ms Carroll, asking if he thought they were false.
“Yes I did,” Mr Trump said. “She said something that I considered to be a false accusation – completely false.”
Mr Kaplan then cut Mr Trump off, saying: “Everything after ‘Yes I did’ is a hit.”
“Did you ever instruct anyone to hurt Mr Carroll in your statements,” Ms Habba asked.
“No, I just wanted to protect myself, my family and the presidency,” Mr Trump said.
Ms. Carroll’s defense team then cross-examined Mr. Trump, without asking whether it was the “first trial” that Mr. Trump had attended.
“Yes,” he said.
Ms. Habba then asked Mr. Trump to confirm whether he had a lawyer at the first trial.
Stepping down from the stand, Mr. Trump shook his head, his mouth wide open in disbelief.
“This is not America,” Mr. Trump said as he left the courtroom after his brief appearance.
Before taking the stand, while Mr. Kaplan was asking Ms. Habba if she had informed Mr. Trump of the restrictions on what he could say, Mr. Trump.
“I wasn’t at the trial,” he said, before adding: “I don’t know who the woman is, I’ve never met this woman.”
Mr. Kaplan praised Mr. Trump, saying “Mr. Trump keep your voice down.”
He then said: “I’m sorry Mr. Trump, you’re interrupting these proceedings by talking loudly while your attorney is talking, and that’s not allowed.”
Last week Mr Kaplan rebuked Mr Trump, who threatened to exclude him from the court for claiming the trial was a “witch hunt” and a “post con” in the jury’s ear.
On Wednesday night, the former president of the Republic unleashed a barrage of attacks on Ms. Carroll with more than 37 posts on his Truth Social platform.
Mr. Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, is seeking at least $10 million over Mr. Trump’s denial in June 2019 that he sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s.
Before Mr. Trump’s testimony, Ms. Carroll’s lawyers wrapped up the presentation of their case by showing video clips of Republican front-runners saying at a campaign rally last week that Ms. Carroll’s claims were a “made up, made up story” and 2022 Carroll. a deposition in which he claimed her as “a liar and a very sick person”.
Another segment showed Mr. Trump misidentifying Ms. Carroll while posing as his ex-wife, Marla Maples.
Mr Trump has long maintained that Mr Carroll is not his “type”.
The court also heard from retired television journalist and friend of Mr Carroll, Frances Carol Martin, who was called as a witness by Mr Trump’s team.
Ms Martin said Ms Carroll assured her she had no major security concerns after she accused Mr Trump of assaulting her.
Ms Martin was also asked about messages she sent to family and friends in which she said Ms Carroll was “on the floor amuck” and claimed she was “addicted to drugs and the drug herself”.
Miss Martin said she wrote the messages but it was “hyperbole”, taken “out of context” and used a “poor choice of words”.
Mr. Trump, who is coming off big wins in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday and in the Iowa caucuses last week, appeared during the majority of court proceedings on Thursday compared to his appearances last week.
Wearing a blue suit and tie, he looked mostly straight ahead, without comment, although he appeared to be moving his lips along with the movement of his mouth in the video which showed him saying that the trial was rigged.
The trial was suspended from early Monday due to the illness of a juror. When he resumed on Thursday, the judge said two jurors were “socially withdrawn” from the others in the jury box.
The trial will resume on Friday morning when both sides will give their closing arguments.
The jury will then retire to begin their deliberations.
