Trump storms out of courtroom as E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer suggests he should pay $24M during closing arguments of defamation trial
Donald Trump stormed out of a Manhattan federal courtroom just minutes after the lawyer for E. Jean Carroll began delivering closing arguments asking jurors to make the former president pay at least $24 million in damages.
Trump, 77, stood up and abruptly walked out of the courtroom around 9:58 a.m., roughly five minutes into Roberta Kaplan’s closing remarks, in which she argued that the defamation damages trial was “about getting [Trump] to stop once and for all” publicly attacking Carroll.
Judge Lewis Kaplan (no relation to Roberta Kaplan) was forced to interject, saying, “The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom.”
“Defense counsel are to remain seated,” the judge said to Trump’s team.
The dramatic moment unfolded after the judge had warned everyone in the courtroom to remain silent during the lawyers’ arguments.
The real estate tycoon is not required to attend the civil trial as he would be in a criminal case. But he has said he wanted to attend all days — and only missed one of five days to attend the funeral for his mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, the mother of Melania Trump.
In fact, the GOP presidential front-runner canceled a Friday trip to Arizona, where he was slated to speak at a Republican event, so he could attend the last day of trial.
Roberta Kaplan told jurors during a roughly one-hour presentation that the trial was “about punishing” the former commander-in-chief for his repeated statements allegedly defaming the “Ask E. Jean” advice columnist.
Carroll’s side has argued that Trump “unleashed his followers” on her when he denied knowing her and said she wasn’t his type in June 2019 — just hours after she first went public with her sexual assault allegations.
Trump’s statement about Carroll, made from the White House lawn while he was in office, destroyed her reputation as a respected journalist and prompted online trolls to send her hateful messages — and even death threats — that she still receives to this day, her lawyers claimed.
And a jury last year ordering Trump to pay $5 million after finding him liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll hasn’t stopped Trump from continuing to defame Carroll, Roberta Kaplan argued.
“This case is about getting him to stop once and for all,” she said.
“He ignored the other verdict as if it didn’t happen,” the lawyer later added. “Given Donald Trump’s insistence on continuing to defame Ms. Carroll and given his immense wealth, how much will it take to make him stop?”
Roberta Kaplan asked the jury to award Carroll $12 million to repair her reputation, at least another $12 million for Carroll’s pain and suffering and additional money in punitive damages.
The attorney didn’t suggest a number for punitive damages but did ask for the figure to be “meaningful,” arguing that it may be Carroll’s “only hope … to ever be free from Donald Trump’s relentless attacks.”
She also argued that Trump only cared about cash, so jurors should hit him where it hurts.
“The one thing that Donald Trump cares about is money,” Roberta Kaplan said. “While Donald Trump does not care about the law, he does not care about the truth — he does care about money.”
After Roberta Kaplan concluded, Trump returned to the courtroom to hear his lawyer Alina Habba deliver her closings.
Habba argued that Trump shouldn’t have to pay for the hateful messages that online trolls sent Carroll and claimed any public statements he made about Carroll were simply meant to defend himself.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Habba said during animated remarks, replete with hand flourishes similar to those of Trump — who watched from the defense table.
“President Trump has no more control over the thoughts of social media users than he does the weather,” she said.
“President Trump should not have to pay for their threats,” Habba said. “He did not condone them, he did not direct them, he just told his truth.”
At one point, Judge Kaplan interrupted Habba as she mentioned that Trump denied raping Carroll.
The judge struck the statement from the record and told jurors to disregard it, reminding them that Trump was already found liable for sexually assaulting her.
“You will not quarrel with me,” the judge snapped when Habba attempted to respond.
At the start of the day, Judge Kaplan also clashed with Habba as she argued to keep one of the slides in her presentation, over Kaplan’s ruling to keep it out.
“Ms. Habba, you are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Sit down!” the judge said at the start of the day.
After Habba finished closings, Trump remained in the courtroom while Carroll’s other lawyer, Shawn Crowley, began rebuttal arguments, calling the 45th president a liar.
“Ladies and gentlemen, his ‘truth’ is a lie,” Crowley told the jury. “That may be how Donald Trump lives his life, but that’s not how it works in a court of law.”
Crowley bashed Trump for walking out earlier in the day, implying it was an example of his lack of respect for the legal system.
“The man who did these things to [Carroll], the man who sexually assaulted her, he gets to do whatever he wants. He gets to ignore a jury verdict,” Crowley said.
“You saw how he behaved during this trial. You saw him walk out of the courtroom while Ms. Kaplan was speaking.”
After closings concluded before 1 p.m., the judge gave the jury instructions before releasing them to start deliberations over lunch.
Kaplan told the jurors that if they rule in favor of Trump, they should award a $1 verdict, and if they find in favor of Carroll, they will have to determine whatever amount they see fit.
On Thursday, Trump testified for under three minutes after Judge Kaplan put limitations on what questions Habba was allowed to ask him and the topics Trump could cover when he responded.
Trump has denied the allegations and call the trial “a hoax.”
