Judge told jury to ignore Trump lawyer’s claims that Don never sexually assaulted E. Jean, that another jury has already found Trump guilty of sexual assault, it “is established”-Bloomberg, 1/26/2024

1/26/24, “Trump Storms Out of Carroll Defamation Trial, Angers Judge,“ Bloomberg.com, Patricia Hurtado, Erik Larson

• Ex-president leaves during Carroll lawyer’s closing arguments
• Carroll seeks millions in damages over his defamatory comments

(End of article): “Clash With Judge”

“Habba, in her closing statement, continued to clash with the judge when she said that Trump has maintained his innocence because he never sexually assaulted Carroll.

“The president has not wavered, you know why? Because he is telling the truth,” Habba said.

Judge Kaplan interrupted her, telling jurors they should ignore Habba’s claims, noting another jury has

already found Trump sexually assaulted the Carroll.

“Ms. Habba, there may be consequences if you fail to follow the law,” the judge said.

Later, she repeated the claim, saying it was “not established” that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll.

“It IS established, Ms. Habba,” the judge said.

Habba continued to try to assert that Trump was merely defending himself from false allegations. “In our country, you have a right to speak, a Constitutional right to speak,” she said.

Judge Kaplan, who’s ruled Trump’s statements were defamatory, cut her off, saying, “You have a Constitutional right to some kinds of speech and not others.”

Habba belittled [E. Jean] Carroll’s motives for claiming her reputation was harmed. “She capitalized on her new-found fame,” and Carroll only promoted her claims to get a financial windfall from Trump, Habba said.

Habba said Trump shouldn’t be held responsible for the threats Carroll received from others. “This isn’t about President Trump and E. Jean Carroll,” she said. “This is about

some people in their mother’s basement who will always be mean on social media.””

 

 

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