E Jean Carroll trial: Judge threatens to bounce Trump from courtroom

A federal judge in a civil defamation case has threatened to remove former US President Donald Trump from a New York courtroom.

The reaction came after a lawyer for former magazine columnist E Jean Carroll on Wednesday said he repeatedly made comments within earshot of the jury.

A jury in May last year found Doland Trump liable for sexually abusing E Jean Carroll in the 1990s and defaming her, but he continues to deny the claim.

He was found guilty of sexual assault and slander, but not for rape, and Ms Carroll received $5 million. His 2022 remarks that her tale was a “con job” and a “hoax” were the basis for that trial.

Why did Trump appear before the court?

The current case focuses on different remarks of Trump when he was president in 2019 and he said he called her [E Jean Carroll] allegation “totally false”.  The judge has already ruled his comments as defamatory, but this second trial will determine additional damages.

What happened in court?

On Wednesday, Donald Trump clashed in court with judge Lewis Kaplan overseeing his trial. Angry exchanges were made between Mr Trump and the judge, who threatened to pick the former president out of the courtroom after Carroll’s lawyer heard him call the case a “witch hunt” and criticise his accuser’s memory within earshot of the jury.

Judge Kaplan said Trump has a right to be present here [ courtroom], but frustration evident in his voice.

Addressing Trump, the judge also said he hopes he doesn’t have to consider excluding him from the trial.

Kaplan said he understands you [Trump] are probably eager for me to do that.”

Trump, also the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, replied, “I would love it.”

However, Mr Trump, who also faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases this year, is awaiting judgment in a New York civil fraud trial.

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