According to The Daily Beast, Trump’s legal team in litigation from writer E. Jean Carroll over a sexual assault she says he perpetrated against her in the 1990s has settled on a new course of action: agreeing to a DNA test of the former president, which is something for which Carroll previously pushed.
Carroll still has a garment she says she wore during an initial assault, although she and her lawyers have recently turned to other areas of focus, like a deposition of the former president and arguments drawn from that sit-down, which took place late last year. At this point, it’s unclear if the test will actually be completed. The Daily Beast notes that the timing of Trump’s late-stage agreement, with most of the discovery process already over and trial looming the month after next, could set up the ex-president’s move to bolster his case to a jury, since it would let his lawyers argue he offered his DNA for a test that was never actually done. Presumably, Carroll’s lawyers could just argue the concurrent observation that Trump was nonetheless still evasive, since he may have turned to that offer specifically after most of discovery was over.
In civil proceedings like these, there is more leeway to infer guilt than would be found in an ordinary criminal case. The discovery process ahead of trial provides an opportunity for both sides to collect relevant evidence, and at present, both sides are still dealing with a potential medical examination of Carroll, evidently by a mental health professional, but it seems that may be about it, at least in the matter of the writer’s claims that directly cover the incident she says originally took place.
Her original defamation claims that were in response to an antagonistic response to her initial account from Trump while he was still president may be tried together. She now also has additional claims of defamation against Trump dealing with statements he made on his knock-off social media site Truth Social, where he once again maligned her, this time long after exiting office. That timing means arguments elsewhere in court over whether there are legal protections for his earlier comments connected to his role as president aren’t relevant.
Trump did that to himself, ensuring at least some claims of defamation could persist no matter how other disputes unfold. The trial on at least the sexual assault and follow-up defamation claims will begin on April 25, under current scheduling. Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is handling the case, has proven generally averse to the idea of delays, so it’s unclear the necessary procedural steps, reopening and extending additional portions of the discovery process for a DNA test, will be undertaken.
