In the ongoing defamation lawsuit in New York City, New York, former President Donald Trump left the courtroom suddenly on Friday, January 26, 2024.
This unexpected departure took place during the closing arguments of E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan.
The former president has been engaged in a legal dispute with Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault back in the 1990s. Judge Lewis Kaplan documented Trump’s exit in the court record.
The focus of the trial was the damages Trump owes Carroll for his defamatory remarks, where he denied the assault allegations.
While arguing for damages, Carroll’s legal team asked for a minimum of $12 million in compensatory damages, plus an unspecified amount in punitive damages. This contrasts with the defense’s argument that Carroll’s already declining career received a boost in both attention and financial benefit due to her accusations against Trump.
In a previous trial, a jury deemed Trump accountable for defaming Carroll after she described an alleged sexual assault in a department store in the 1990s. In the current proceedings, jurors were instructed to accept the previous trial’s finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll, although it did not categorize the incident as rape under New York law.
The trial experienced several contentious moments. Earlier, Judge Kaplan warned Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, about possible detention for her attempts to bring in unrelated social media posts that attacked Carroll.
Trump, who audibly reacted during witness testimonies, received multiple warnings from the judge. His departure from the courtroom notably happened after Carroll’s attorney mentioned his reaction to the verdict in Carroll’s first lawsuit against him. He returned when his own attorney began the closing argument. Judge Kaplan twice voiced objections to the defense’s claims, which both denied the assault and pointed out inconsistencies in Carroll’s narrative.
After the trial, Trump, who plans to run for reelection in 2024, criticized the legal system as “Broken and Unfair!” in a statement on his social media platform.
His comments were in response to the jury’s decision to award Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages following less than three hours of deliberation.
