By Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian —
NBC News
Donald Trump returns to federal court in New York City this Thursday, where he is expected to testify in his own defense in the defamation case against journalist E. Jean Carroll.
Although Trump was expected to testify last Monday, testimony was postponed after a juror became ill and the former president's lawyer Alina Habba told the judge that she had been exposed to the coronavirus and was feeling ill.
Habba and Michael Madaio, another lawyer for the former president, tested negative that same day.
Trump, who defeated Nikki Haley in Tuesday's Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire, is likely to take the stage early this afternoon.
Carroll
is demanding at least $10 million
for “damage to his reputation, humiliation and emotional distress in his public and private life,” plus an unspecified amount in punitive damages to “punish Trump for acting maliciously and deter Trump and others.” ” to continue defaming her.
An expert who testified on Carroll's behalf estimated the cost of repairing his reputation at $7 million to $12 million.
E. Jean Carroll arrives at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, in New York, on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Ted Shaffrey / AP
Carroll is expected to finish testifying early, to clear the way for Trump's defense.
The former president is listed as one of two possible defense witnesses in the case, in which jurors will decide how much he should pay Carroll in damages for defaming her while he was in the White House in 2019, when he accused
her of making up a sexual abuse, for financial and political reasons.
Last year, another jury found Trump responsible for sexual assault and defaming Carroll, although not for raping her.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan used that jury's verdict to find Trump liable for defaming her in the current case.
Will Trump play by the rules this time?
This event limits what Trump can say on the stand.
Because it is an established fact in the case that the former president sexually abused and defamed Carroll, he cannot testify about it, even though he has continued to publicly attack her.
“Mr. Trump cannot offer any testimony, evidence or argument that suggests or implies that he did not sexually assault Ms. Carroll, that she fabricated her account, or that she had any motive for doing so,” Kaplan wrote in a Jan. 9 ruling.
Trump has given no indication that he plans to limit himself to Kaplan's guidelines.
When asked about her testimony before the trial began, he told reporters,
“I'm going to explain that I don't know who the hell she is.”
Carroll's lawyers had asked Kaplan to stop Trump's testimony to prevent him from trying to "wreak havoc."
The judge has said the court “will take such action as it deems appropriate” to prevent him from violating the rules.
Trump, 77, has already clashed with Kaplan, 79, in the courtroom.
During Carroll's testimony last week, the writer's attorney complained that Trump was making inappropriate comments to her attorney that the jury could hear.
Kaplan asked Trump to be “especially careful to keep his voice down.”
The warning had no effect: Carroll's lawyer, Shawn Crowley, insisted to the judge that he could hear the former president calling his claims a "scam" and that the jury could too.
Kaplan then made it clear to Trump that he had the right to be present in court, but that he could lose that right if he continued to disrupt or ignore the court order.
In this courtroom sketch, E. Jean Carroll, right, turns to former President Donald Trump, seated left, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in New York.
Elizabeth Williams / AP
“Mr. Trump, I hope I don't have to consider removing you from the trial.
I understand that you are very anxious for me to do that,” Kaplan added.
“I would love to,” Trump responded.
“I know, because apparently he can't control himself.
“It just can’t,” Kaplan replied.
“Neither are you,” Trump replied.
The former president had said he would testify at the previous trial in the case, but ultimately decided not to.
Now, the jury will hear some sworn testimony from Trump, even if he decides not to take the stand.
“She's not my type,” Trump said
Carroll's attorneys have said they plan to play excerpts of his hour-long videotaped statement in October 2022 for the jury.
In the deposition, parts of which were played at the latest trial, Trump called Carroll's claims
a "big hoax" and insisted that "physically, she's not my type."
He was also shown an old photo of him and Carroll together at an event, and he mistook it for his ex-wife Marla Maples.
In addition to the deposition, Carroll's lawyers are expected to call former Elle magazine editor Roberta Myers to testify about the journalist's reputation
when she worked as a columnist at the publication.
The other witness Trump's team could call is Carol Martin, a former anchor at WCBS-TV in New York.
If Trump takes the stand, it would be the second time he has done so in two months: He testified in November in the $250 million civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against him and his company.
During his only day on the stand, Trump called the case a “scam” and said James was politically motivated.
He also called the judge who presided over the bench trial “very hostile.”
The judge, Arthur Engoron, is expected to issue a decision with his findings in the coming weeks.
Trump last testified before a jury in 2013.