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Illustration: Isabel Bruman
During the four years that Donald Trump was president, a sizable percentage of voters indulged in the fantasy that one day they might be exposed on the witness stand in court. What would happen if President Trump was sworn in and forced to tell the whole truth about just one of his many charges? What if the world’s greatest distorter was forced to tell all his abuse and bullshit? What would be left of him if stripped away and forced to cling to hard, indisputable facts?
After all, almost nothing. On Thursday, Trump took the witness stand in his civil libel trial in Manhattan federal court, intending to defend himself against rape accusations. He retrieved approximately half a dozen texts, some of which were officially removed from the record.
“This is not America,” Trump yelled as he walked out of the courtroom after less than five minutes on the witness stand.
“This is not America,” he repeated, raising his voice and glaring at reporters in the gallery, as if ordering them to shut down. “This is…not America…”
In America, or at least the country that exists in his imagination, Donald Trump is the almost certain Republican presidential candidate, a politician who can say whatever he wants without worrying about the consequences. . But the courtroom was a different realm. Its absolute ruler, Judge Lewis Kaplan, had been on the bench for 30 years, long enough to develop an atmosphere of fractious authority. The judge even appears to have threatened Trump himself to do what many thought was impossible. Trump has been saying for weeks that he wants to take his stand and confront the jury of nine anonymous citizens considering the amount of damages he should pay to E. Jean Carroll, the author he defamed. He has made fun of his enthusiasm to the media and the public. new york She released her own testimony about being raped by President Trump in the 1990s. (new york Mr. Trump is not a party to the lawsuit, and I had no role in soliciting, editing, or publishing this article. ) Late Wednesday, the day before his testimony, Trump published a post on his platform Truth Social calling the judge “extremely hostile.” And he “100% hates Trump.” But Trump also didn’t have the courage to say that to Kaplan’s face.
Kaplan’s intolerant defiance is legendary. Famously, he once hired a private law firm to investigate and prosecute environmental activist lawyers who defied court orders related to alleged misconduct in a lawsuit against Chevron. (His lawyer, Stephen Donziger, was convicted of misdemeanor contempt and sentenced to six months in prison.) Trump and his lawyers are pushing the limits of the rules of evidence, making it seem as if they are It shows an attitude of behavior. Law and order In more liberal venues, such as nearby state court, the relatively cheerful Judge Arthur Engoron recently concluded a civil fraud trial. Barricades were set up outside the state courthouse for television cameramen, and Trump went outside to speak during each recess. Mr. Kaplan thwarted any attempt to turn the court into a political theater. Trump and his inner circle won’t even be allowed to bring cellphones into the courtroom. At one point during the morning proceedings, a cell phone rang in the section of the gallery where members of the Trump team were sitting.
“Get that man out of here,” Kaplan growled as court officials removed the critically ill man, who was now floating in the East River, never to be seen again. Ta.
Mr. Kaplan has exercised great control over the courts through a series of rulings that are firmly framed around the narrow issue of damages. The underlying question of what happened to Carol in the 1990s was also the subject of a separate civil trial held last year, in which the jury found that Trump sexually assaulted Carol in a department store dressing room, as she claimed. It was determined that there was a high possibility of assault. in her articles and her accompanying book. In September, Mr. Kaplan ruled that a second trial could uphold the earlier ruling, meaning Mr. Trump would not be allowed to make a different argument in court. On Friday, President Trump explained the finding in closing arguments, with Carroll’s lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, telling jurors that Trump had “no do-overs” on the question of whether he had committed sexual assault. As I heard the former president say: Visibly agitated, he stood up, left his usual spot at the defense table, and stormed across the hallway to an adjoining waiting room.
“I’m sorry,” interjected Judge Kaplan, who is not related to Carroll’s attorney. “The record will reflect that Donald Trump stood up and walked out of the courtroom.”
This second jury found that President Trump had made a series of statements to the press suggesting that Carroll was lying about the attack and that she was politically or financially motivated, and that Carroll had said, “ It is only supposed to consider how much he should pay for defaming her for implying that he would take such action. Pay a hefty price for making “such false accusations.” Carroll’s lawyers presented evidence that after Trump’s comments, his supporters caught wind of his advances and lashed out at the accuser, even threatening to rape and kill her. did.
Prior to Mr. Trump’s testimony, Mr. Carroll’s lawyers entered into evidence a series of additional challenging statements made by Mr. Trump during his trial. “This is a fraudulent transaction, a fabricated story, a fabricated story,” he said at a news conference held after Carroll’s testimony on January 17. Another Truth Social post called Carroll’s story “a fabricated and disgusting hoax.” The plaintiffs also played a video of an earlier deposition in which President Trump said he had “a lot of lies thrown at me” and could quote “the whole list.” This included Russian election interference, Ukraine-related impeachment, and Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2020 election. (“Mail-in voting: It’s very dishonest,” he said, admitting that he sometimes votes absentee.) Elsewhere in the deposition, Trump’s continued animosity toward Carroll is clear. It was showing. “This woman is sick,” he said, calling her a “freak job” for making up the story “out of the cold air.”
As the video played, President Trump appeared to be yawning, staring at the monitor with his eyelids half-closed.
The defense presented only two witnesses. The first, Carol Martin, is a longtime friend of Carroll’s and one of two witnesses who testified at the first trial that Carol confided that Trump attacked her shortly after the incident. Alina Haba, Trump’s chief lawyer, gave Martin text messages in which she criticized what she described as Carroll’s “narcissism” and the “admiration” that comes with friends accusing Trump. He told those around him that he thought, “I like it.” She responded that Mr Martin regretted his “exaggeration” and that despite the backbiting, he considered Ms Carole to be a dear friend of his. (When her court was recessing for her lunch, Carol approached her and hugged her girlfriend tightly.)
After lunch, before the jury returned, Mr. Kaplan presided over a short hearing in which he harshly reiterated previous rulings about what Mr. Trump can and cannot contest on the witness stand. Put her finger in her vagina. ”
“Uggggggg!” Trump groaned as he listened to the clinical explanation at the defense table.
“I want to know everything he’s going to say,” Kaplan told Hubba.
“I’m not going to testify on behalf of my client,” Haba replied, declining to make any definitive predictions.
“You’re presenting evidence and your client is bound by it,” Kaplan said.
Haba assured Kaplan that he would question his client only on three subjects. The first is whether he stands by his deposition testimony. Second, what was his mental state when defending himself against Carroll’s accusations? and third, whether he ever directed others to harm the accuser. Mr. Kaplan asked her to further narrow down her investigation. “There will be no open-ended questions,” he said. Meanwhile, Trump became increasingly agitated and barked at his lawyers.
“I’ve never met that woman,” he said audibly. “I don’t know who that woman is.” Mr. Trump did not seem to understand, or at least not accept, the legal constraints the judge placed on his testimony. “I wasn’t present at the trial,” he said, referring to the trial in which he was found guilty of sexual abuse. Several times, he seemed to say to Haba, “That’s another trial.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Trump, but you’re a loud filibuster,” Kaplan said.
In the end, Mr. Kaplan confronted Mr. Hubba with just two questions. When he called the jurors back, they arrived in a line with notebooks in hand. “The defense will call President Donald Trump,” Haba said.
“Mr. President,” she said, asking the first question. “Do you support the testimony in the deposition?”
“100 percent yes,” President Trump said. And he tried to explain in detail. “She said something, but I think it was a false accusation and 100 percent a lie.”
Mr. Kaplan deleted the second half of his answer and instructed the jury to ignore it.
Hubba asked a second question about whether he had ever told anyone to hurt Carol.
“No,” Trump replied. “I just wanted to protect myself, my family, and frankly the office of the president.”
“After a ‘no,’ everything falls apart,” Kaplan said.
And so, for one day, Donald Trump’s voice was silenced in a room.
With additional reporting from Jean Brannum.
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