The day after his resounding victory in the Republican caucus in Iowa, former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared Tuesday in court in New York where he began to be tried for defamation in a process initiated by a writer who already won another trial for sexual assault last year.
The former Republican president, who aspires to return to the White House in the November elections, announced last Thursday his intention to go to court to defend himself against the accusations of E. Jean Carroll, 80, a former columnist for Elle magazine, who is demanding $10 million for damages suffered to his professional reputation.
Trump arrived aboard a procession of black cars at the courthouse in lower Manhattan, which woke up covered by a blanket of snow, in an image that has become commonplace in recent weeks. Last Friday, another trial against him and two of his sons for tax fraud concluded in another New York court.
Journalist and author Jean Carroll arrives Tuesday at the New York courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial. Photo: EFE
According to the judicial press present in the courtroom, the two protagonists did not exchange any glances.
The prosecution's arguments
The trial, which began with jury selection, centers on statements the now 77-year-old Republican made in June 2019 after Carroll mentioned the rape allegations in a magazine article.
At the time, the then-president claimed that Carroll was "not his type" and that he had made up the whole story to "sell his new book."
"I've never seen that woman in my life ... I have no idea who she is," Donald Trump repeated last week about the writer, whom he has branded a "liar" and a "moron" after being sentenced to pay, in another trial in May last year, more than $2 million for a sexual assault in 1996 and almost $3 million also for another defamation case in October 2022.
Trump appealed the ruling. The trial was delayed due to procedural disputes.
The Republican, more than ever favorite to be the Republican candidate for the presidential elections on November 4, has described the different judicial fronts he faces as a "witch hunt," aimed at hindering his presidential aspirations.
With Tuesday's election, the tycoon has at least six civil and criminal court dates pending, but so far they do not seem to have made a dent in his political career.
Donald Trump's opponents protest outside New York courthouses and demand conviction. Photo: BLOOMBERG
"They're not coming for me, they're coming against you. I'm just in the middle of the road," he writes in capital letters on his social networks to his followers.
This trial could raise the question of Trump's behavior with women, as he has been accused on several occasions of sexual assault, although he has never been criminally convicted.
Justice & Campaign
In a sign of the tensions surrounding the retrial, Crown Judge Lewis Kaplan has ordered that the identity of the jurors be kept secret.
Likewise, in an attempt to prevent the hearing from becoming a political rally, the judge has made it clear that "the only thing at stake in the trial is the damages caused to Mrs. Carroll by the statements" that he considers "defamatory", "false" and "malicious".
Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, wrote to the judge last Friday to warn him of the risk that the Republican's presence will create "chaos" and turn the hearing into a "circus."
According to a court filing document, Trump requested a postponement of the trial so he could attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, on Thursday in Florida.
But the judge denied the request, reminding him that on Wednesday night he was scheduled to participate in a rally in New Hampshire, in the second round of the primaries in his desire to return to the White House from which Democrat Joe Biden evicted him almost four years ago.
Source: AFP
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