Trump will get 'little to no leash' from strict judge at E. Jean Carroll trial: expert
January 16, 2024
Donald Trump is attending his second defamation trial involving journalist E. Jean Carroll, but an expert said Tuesday he might be wasting his time.
Most of the basic facts in the case have already been decided after a jury found last year that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her after leaving office. The latest trial will determine the penalties he must face for defamatory comments he made while serving in the White House — and the judge likely won't tolerate any outbursts from the former president.
"What's different about today is it's unclear if he's going to get a return on his investment of time because there are no cameras and no role for him during jury selection or if they get to opening statements," said CNN's Paula Reid.
She said it will be completely different to the former president's appearance last week at his fraud trial in New York.
"This is very different than what we saw late last week where we heard from him four times in one day. He talked to cameras on the way into court, he spoke in court, spoke on his way out and in a press conference," Reid said.
"If he wants to talk to his supporters or amplify his message, it's most likely he'll have to hold a private press event. Federal court, totally different animal."
Trump's lawyers say he wants to testify in this case, although he skipped the first defamation trial altogether, but U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan likely would place limits on what he can discuss before the jury.
"What he could say is what I will expect him to say," said former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland. "He will take every avenue to say what he should not or use it as a stomping ground for a win politically. He will try to say what he should not. Again, which is, 'I don't know this woman, this was a hoax, I didn't sexually assault her, I wasn't found responsible for raping her.'
"He's not going to want to speak about his money and what potential damages could be. Will he try to speak to his state of mind? Will he try to limit his financial exposure? Absolutely, but the script that Donald Trump has to keep and likes to keep is not what the court wants to contain from the four corners of the courtroom."
Saland expects that Kaplan will give Trump a much shorter leash than New York Judge Arthur Engoron did in his business fraud trial.
"There will be little to no leash, and I think that will be shut down quickly," Saland said.
"His counsel's already said, and voiced that ground for appeal, which is you're already limiting my client's ability to defend himself out of the gate if you adhere to what the plaintiff's attorney wants and what he said to limit him, but, you know, he's going to have to try to keep it to what his state of mind was, which may be reasonable, and what his dollars are, but the defamatory issue is over."
Reid agreed, saying there was little benefit to Trump going to the trial.
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"Not only is this a different environment, this is a very different judge, and I think what we saw in the civil case, the judge there, you know, he kind of entertained the cameras, he allowed the pool spray at the top," Reid said.
"He understood access and kind of played to the cameras, joke a little. There was no questions on whether that was even appropriate. He knew what he was going to get as soon as Trump stood up to address the court. He let him go on for a little while, but federal court is different. These judges, they don't fight. They don't engage in antics, and if you blow past them, they are going to cut you off, potentially even drag you out of court.
"You could argue that would feed into the larger narrative. Maybe that's the three-dimensional chess they're playing here, but the big question is, why today? There's no role, no cameras. Will he get a return on his investment more so than going to New Hampshire or the border? We'll see."
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