Donald Trump will spend his first day off of his Iowa Caucus win in court after losing his defamation suit brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll, NBC News reported Monday evening.
Carroll has been suing Trump for years, but he successfully delayed it by declaring "presidential immunity," which was unsuccessfully appealed.
He defamed her again while that case was on hold, causing another suit. That case moved forward, and a jury found that Trump did "sexually abuse" Carroll, awarding her damages.
The jury has already decided the case, but what has not concluded is how much Trump will owe Carroll for the initial act of defamation. That case begins on Tuesday, when Carroll is slated to take the stand.
Trump claimed that he wanted to speak out in the trial, but Judge Lewis Kaplan has already warned the ex-president against relitigating the case that was already decided by the jury last year.
Trump didn't show up for that trial.
One legal expert said that Trump's appearance in court could make things worse for him.
Speaking with the Guardian, Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, explained, "There’s no legal defense. There’s no factual defense that’s going to be presented," before adding, "Defamation is definitely a tough kind of case to pinpoint as to what a jury is going to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if the jurors return a seven- or even eight-figure verdict.”
Carroll's lawyer has warned against future attacks on her client, saying "cruelty will make him less wealthy." The implication is that each incident of defamation will result in further suits.
