Trump doesn't plan to put on a defense case in E. Jean Carroll trial
CNN —
Donald Trump’s legal team will not put on a defense case in a civil battery and defamation trial brought against the former president, his attorney said Wednesday.
Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina confirmed outside the presence of the jury that his legal team will not call a previously proposed expert witness due to logistical reasons related to health concerns for the witness.
The case was brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who has alleged Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim, said she wasn’t his type and suggested she made up the story to boost sales of her book. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
The jury on Wednesday saw about 20 minutes of Trump’s video deposition taken last October in which he was questioned by Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan.
Trump testified that he rarely “if ever” shopped at Bergdorf Goodman.
His initial statement denying Carroll’s allegations on June 21, 2019, was also read into the record. Trump confirmed it was his statement and that he still stands by it. Quotes from his interview with The Hill days later were also read into the record. He confirmed he made those comments and stands by them at the time of the deposition.
Trump also testified during the deposition that he never read Carroll’s New York Magazine excerpt or her book in which she accuses him of raping her.
Dr. Leslie Lebowitz, a clinical psychologist, testified Wednesday that she evaluated Carroll and found that she has no signs of thought or character disorders or mental illness, but that she has been harmed by the alleged rape by Trump.
Carroll’s sister Cande Carroll also testified on Wednesday afternoon. The jury also heard from Natasha Stoynoff, a journalist who’s accused Trump of sexually assaulting her. Trump has denied Stoynoff’s claims.
On Thursday, the jury is expected to hear from witnesses Carol Martin, Dr. Ashlee Humphreys, and former Elle Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers. Judge Lewis Kaplan said he plans to instruct and charge the jury to begin deliberating next Tuesday morning.
This story has been updated with additional details.
Source: CNN
