It sounds like the Trump team was taking federal Judge Lewis Kaplan’s strict approach rather personally on Wednesday. Kaplan was presiding over a trial meant to cover the question of financial damages on Donald Trump after liability implicating him was established around claims by writer E. Jean Carroll of defamation.
She alleged defamation over Trump’s antagonistic responses to her account of Trump sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, claims that another trial already covered more directly. During these proceedings, Kaplan repeatedly directed that Trump lawyer Alina Habba sit down as she pushed despite the judge’s earlier rejection for a delay ostensibly allowing Trump to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral, though there was no compulsion he attend the trial. And the judge threatened to force Trump’s removal from court over his running commentary audible outside his defense team as proceedings moved forward.
After a break on Wednesday, Trump’s team moved for the judge to recuse himself, meaning exit the proceedings. They cited a so-called atmosphere of hostility and claimed connections between the judge and a lawyer for Carroll who allegedly was once a clerk for the judge. Kaplan succinctly denied the push, keeping the trial moving forward.
Trump had earlier remarked in response to the judge’s threat of removing him that he would “love” that to happen. An obvious implication here is that Kaplan taking such steps to secure an orderly nature to proceedings would support the ex-president’s ongoing narrative that he’s facing political persecution by way of the judicial process. Though the rants focus on the four criminal cases that Trump is also facing, the ex-president has alleged that Joe Biden is behind his legal travails, which just on a basic level is not true. There is no evidence of involvement by Biden in decisions producing key legal proceedings imperiling Trump.
Now, a decision from a three-judge panel on a federal appeals court in D.C. is imminent covering Trump’s claims that a criminal case from Special Counsel Jack Smith should be stopped because of allegedly wide-reaching legal protections enjoyed by Trump because he was once president.
