A New York federal judge on Monday rejected former President Donald Trump’s request for a mistrial. In the explosive case involving writer E. Jean Carroll, she claims that Trump attacked her in a Manhattan store in the 1990s.
But hours before her testimony was to continue over the alleged attack and defamation, lawyer Joe Tacopina filed an 18-page complaint. Trump’s attorney asserted that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan exhibited a pattern of “pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings” against the Republican.
Tacopina requested that Kaplan issue a correction for each time the Court “mischaracterized the facts of this case to the jury.”
He also asked for more freedom to cross-examine Trump’s accuser if the mistrial was not granted. The attorney accused Kaplan of issuing rulings in Carroll’s favor and exhibiting “a deeper leaning towards one party over another.”
Tacopina added that certain remarks from the bench proved “favoritism.”
Trump’s Bid For A Mistrial Is Denied By NY Federal Judge https://t.co/suXCMelDVO #OAN
— One America News (@OANN) May 1, 2023
Trump’s bid for a mistrial was rejected Monday morning just before the jury was called back into the courtroom to hear evidence from Carroll. She told the jury last week that she was there because she was attacked.
The writer claimed that Trump attacked her in 1995 or 1996 while they were in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City. Carroll said the two had exchanged “playful banter” before he grabbed her and pinned her against the dressing room wall with his shoulder.
Her defamation charge stems from an Oct. 2022 post on Trump’s Truth Social platform. The former president responded to her accusations by calling them a “complete con job” and “a hoax and a lie.”
The former Elle magazine advice columnist published her memoir titled, “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.” New York magazine published excerpts from her work in June 2019, and they included her story about alleged events in the 1990s.
Trump has not attended the trial.
After her charges were published three years ago, Carroll accused Trump of lying and damaging her reputation. She said she is now attempting to “get her life back.”
Among the assertions from Tacopina against Kaplan were his decision to not allow Carroll to be questioned as to why she did not request security camera footage from the store where the alleged attack occurred. The attorney wrote that this constituted evidence that her accusation is false.
Carroll told the court that going to parties related to her lawsuit against the former president and publicly stating she was “fabulous” did not mean she was being untruthful.
