new york –
Former President Donald Trump’s attorney wants to testify in rape trial but wants to relieve New York City of a logistical burden with his presence, so he may decide not to testify. Not allowed next week. the judge said Thursday.
Five days before the civil trial began, Judge Louis A. Kaplan said, “Mr. Trump is free to attend, testify, or both. He is also free to do none of these things.” is,” he wrote.
The trial stemmed from columnist E. Gene Carroll’s allegations that a Republican raped her backstage at an upscale Manhattan department store in late 1995 or early 1996. She is seeking unspecified damages.
Trump said the encounter never happened, and Carole was trying to spur sales of her 2019 memoir.
Kaplan told Trump’s attorneys that “the burden that Trump’s alleged desire to testify, or absence on his part, escaped or could have escaped the court or New York City.” I warned you not to mention it.
Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, told Kaplan on Wednesday that jurors at the trial said Trump’s absence was meant to relieve New York City and the court system from the logistical burden associated with his presence. I asked him to instruct me that he was doing so.
On Thursday, Tacopina said it was too early to tell as it was a decision Trump would make during the trial to let him know whether Trump would attend the trial, depending on the deadline set by the judge. rice field.
In his order, the judge noted that Trump announced earlier this week that he would speak at a campaign event in New Hampshire on April 27, the third day of his scheduled trial.
“If the Secret Service can protect him at that event, no doubt the Secret Service, the Marshal Service, and the City of New York can watch over his safety in this very secure federal courthouse.
On Wednesday, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, mocked Trump’s proposed jury directives in a letter to the judge, citing Trump’s support for wrestling championships, political conventions, civil depositions, and the campaign. He said the function was successful.
If so, she wrote.
