Donald Trump unexpectedly briefly leaves the courtroom Second trial for defamation: Trump again rejects accusations

During the closing arguments in the second defamation trial of American author E. Jean Carroll against Donald Trump, the former American president unexpectedly left the courtroom. Shortly after Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan began her plea on Friday, Trump stood up without notice and left the room, US media unanimously reported.

“The record will show that Mr. Trump just stood up and left the courtroom,” said Judge Lewis Kaplan, who asked Trump’s legal team to remain seated. After a brief break following attorney Kaplan’s argument, Trump returned to the courtroom for his lawyers’ closing arguments. Why he left the room and where he initially went remained unclear.

The trial could be completed on Friday and handed over to the jury. In the morning, in drizzle and fog, numerous media representatives and some demonstrators gathered in front of the courthouse in Manhattan.

This is the 80-year-old Carroll’s second lawsuit against Trump. At the end of the first trial in May, a New York jury found it proven that Trump had assaulted Carroll in a luxury New York department store in 1996, sexually assaulted him and later defamed him. The jury then awarded the writer a compensation of five million dollars (approximately 4.65 million euros).

Because she also deemed Trump’s subsequent comments to be defamatory, Carroll then sued again. Even before the start of the second trial, Judge Kaplan agreed with her and ruled that further comments by Trump were defamatory. The jury now only has to decide on the amount of damages that the ex-president must pay to the woman. Carroll is asking for more than $10 million.

Trump had already appeared in person several times in the second trial – unlike the first, where he was completely absent – ​​and attracted attention through numerous commentating opinion statements. That is why the judge had already threatened him with exclusion. The 77-year-old is considered the Republicans’ most promising candidate in the presidential elections in November. However, he is currently also dealing with the courts in various cases. Trump often uses the court data as a kind of campaign appearance. (sda/dpa)