During trial proceedings this Friday that were covering the question of financial penalties on Donald Trump over defamation allegations brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan quipped to Trump lawyer Alina Habba that she was nearing a stint in detention as she continued with what the judge clearly deemed an antagonistic crusade.
Kaplan has chastised Habba since much earlier in these proceedings, when the attorney tried to push again for a delay in the trial despite the judge’s earlier rejection. Trump’s team was trying to put proceedings on hold to ostensibly accommodate the former president’s attendance of his mother-in-law’s funeral. Trump was not obligated to attend the trial stemming from Carroll’s claims, however — no matter his attempt to bend the scheduling to his wishes.
This time, Habba was trying to redirect the discussion in court as the judge grappled with the Trump team’s evident attempt at using images of commentary on Twitter (now called X) that weren’t formally entered into evidence. “Sit down. You are on the verge of spending some time in the lock up,” Kaplan told Habba as she interjected.
Closing arguments were taking place Friday, marking a comparatively shorter trial, which was on hold for much of the preceding work week. Trump was again in attendance — at least partially — for the close on Friday, with steep financial penalties potentially on the way after $5 million already imposed from a first trial on a related set of (civil) claims from the writer.
Years ago, when Trump was still president, Carroll shared an account of Trump sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, and the earlier trial included allegations directly covering that alleged incident. That jury largely upheld Carroll’s account. Her upheld claims of defamation, meanwhile, grew from the ex-president’s consistently antagonistic responses to what she’s shared, demeaning commentary from Trump both as president and after leaving office.
