Trump cites NYC traffic as reason to dodge rape trial appearance

Trump's attorneys have reportedly claimed in court documents that, although he would like to appear in court to face a civil defamation suit from a woman he has denied raping decades ago, he might stay away as much as possible because of traffic and related travel concerns associated with the arrival of the former president.

Joseph Tacopina, Trump's attorney, wrote to a judge that Trump was merely trying to save New Yorkers from experiencing traffic jams, blocked streets, and other nuisances that marked Trump's arraignment visit, according to the New York Times. Trump's attorney was previously scolded by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday after the lawyer reportedly asked questions about an anonymous jury.

The trial is set to begin on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Lower Manhattan, according to the New York Times report.

"But Mr. Tacopina noted that when Trump appeared in the nearby Manhattan State Supreme Court for his recent arraignment on unrelated criminal charges, Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive was shut down for a significant period while Mr. Trump traveled to the courthouse. Streets within a three-block radius of the court were blocked off while he was there, and he was constantly accompanied by about a dozen Secret Service agents," the report says.

It continues: "For Mr. Trump to appear at the federal courthouse, Mr. Tacopina told Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, his movements would need to be coordinated each day that he was present by a Secret Service advance team hours beforehand. The team would then develop a tactical plan. That plan would reportedly include courthouse floors being locked down, and courthouse personnel being confined to their offices, according to the New York Times.

The letter purportedly asked that Trump’s presence be excused “unless and until he is called by either party to testify” at the trial, which is expected to last about a week, it reported.