Donald Trump has not yet taken the stand in the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll, but a video recording of his prior testimony stunned the courtroom into silence.
The former president has already been found liable for sexually abusing the author and then defaming her by denying her allegations and smearing her reputation after leaving the White House. A jury on Thursday listened to his deposition to determine what damages he should pay for separate defamatory statements he made as president.
A judge has already ruled him liable for defamation in the latest trial, meaning the jury is mainly considering damages.
"The most important thing that happened [Thursday] was playing of videos from prior depositions," said MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, "as well as statements he made on the campaign trail, and, in particular, we heard clips of his deposition ... he gave in the New York attorney general's civil fraud case, where he boasted at length about the value of his brand, how much cash he has on hand, how he might value properties like Doral or Mar-a-Lago in comparison to his total portfolio. Overall, he was boasting about his total net worth, and that's a factor that this jury will be called upon to consider in assessing what punitive damages are appropriate."
One moment from his video deposition stood out as particularly dramatic, Rubin said.
ALSO READ: Uncivil war: How Speaker Mike Johnson’s dream of bipartisan decency died in his hands
"Prior to his potentially taking the stand later this afternoon, that deposition testimony not only included his doubling down on the defamatory statements that are at issue from June of 2019, but also included the moment where he was confronted with the photograph of E. Jean Carroll and her then-husband John Johnson meeting Donald and Ivana Trump in 1987," Rubin said.
"That moment, as you'll remember, is infamous. Donald Trump looks down, having already defamed E. Jean Carroll saying she's not his type, and yet mistakes E. Jean Carroll for his second wife Marla Maples."
"I think that was the most silent the room has been was watching those clips from Donald Trump's deposition," she added, "and then of course there's the weird journalistic experience of watching Donald Trump watch Donald Trump and having practically zero reaction."
Watch the video below or at this link.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
