He can’t help it – he just has to post.
Former President Donald Trump dismissed a federal judge’s stern warning by falsely claiming on Tuesday that he was “not allowed to speak or defend himself” in court against E. Jean Carroll’s battery and defamation allegations, even though days earlier he actually turned down the chance to to testify
Judge Lewis Kaplan had warned Trump’s lawyers that posting about the case on social media could hurt him. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina said last month that he would ask the 2024 presidential nominee “to refrain from posting about the case.” the legal news site Law & Crime.
Apparently he was unsuccessful. As Kaplan prepared to brief the jury and send them to deliberate, Trump complained to Truth Social, saying he was “waiting for a jury decision on a false accusation.”
Carroll alleges Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and is suing in civil court for an unspecified sum of money. Trump denies the allegation.
Trump continued: “I will therefore only speak after the trial, but I am appealing my unconstitutional silence as a candidate, regardless of the outcome!”
Trump spoke at one point throughout the process Journalists in Ireland tell that he was flying back to New York to “confront” Carroll. Tacopina was then forced to assure Judge Kaplan that this would not happen, after Law & Crimewho received a transcript of the sidebar discussion.
Trump had the opportunity to attend the trial and take a stand in his defense. Last week, after Tacopina told the court Trump would not testify, Kaplan gave him a deadline Sunday night to change his mind. Trump’s attorneys filed nothing, saying they wanted to change course.
Attorneys for both sides delivered closing arguments on Monday, and the jury began deliberating on Tuesday.
