Trump blames media in seeking delay in rape accuser Carroll’s trial

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump was scheduled for April 25 on whether he denied raping and defaming former Elle columnist E. Gene Carroll. He asked the U.S. judge to postpone the trial. about criminal charges against him.

In a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Louis Kaplan in Manhattan on Tuesday night, Trump’s attorneys said they would ensure the former U.S. president’s right to a fair trial in Carroll’s case by at least May 23. He said a four-week “cooling-off” period until 2020 would be necessary.

President Trump’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina and Alina Habba, said that without a postponement, “many, if not most, jurors will be criminally challenged when deciding President Trump’s defense of Mr. Carroll’s allegations.” We will prioritize the accusations,” he said in the letter.

Future jurors “will be hearing breathtaking reports about alleged extramarital affairs between President Trump and Stormy Daniels,” they added. [the] The trial will proceed as scheduled. “

Trump pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of falsifying business records between April 4 and April 34 in a lawsuit filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

These charges concern Trump’s alleged cover-up of a $130,000 hush-money payment to silence Daniels about alleged ties to the porn star before the 2016 election, which he accused is denied.

Trump is seeking another term in the White House, leading the Republican Party.

“extremely inappropriate”

In a letter to the judge Wednesday, Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan opposed Trump’s request.

She called it “another delaying tactic” to prevent jurors from hearing her client’s case, and as state media revisited his alleged extramarital affairs, the Constitution was set against Trump. He said he did not condone his allegations of sexual assault.

Kaplan also cited pending criminal and civil investigations and lawsuits, saying he had “substantial reasons” to believe the negative press would not abate, and accused Trump’s “inflammatory criticized the statement.

“When Trump instigated (and sought to profit from) much of the coverage he now complains about, it is highly inappropriate to complain about fairness,” Kaplan wrote.

Kaplan and the judges are not related.

battery claims

Trump in an October 2022 post on his Truth social media platform that Carroll, 79, raped her in the changing rooms of Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in late 1995 or early 1996. It is seeking damages for the denial of

She has also filed a lawsuit against Trump over an incident he allegedly encountered, although he says he never encountered it.

Trump said in the post that he did not know Carroll and that he had fabricated the rape allegations to promote his memoir, which he described as “hoaxes,” “lies,” “fraud,” and “outright fraud.” ‘ said.

Carroll also sued Trump for defamation in November 2019 for similarly denying her rape allegations five months earlier. That case is still pending.

Trump’s lawyers have set up a trial, which is expected to last several days, from May 23 to Aug. 8, and will present all motions in the criminal case so that juries “could be fair.” much higher,” he said.

The case is Carroll v. Trump, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-10016.

Reported by Jonathan Stempel, New York.Edited by Christian Schmolinger, Kenneth Maxwell and Deepa Babington

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