Current:Home > MyTrump’s attorney renews call for mistrial in defamation case brought by writer in sex-abuse case-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Trump’s attorney renews call for mistrial in defamation case brought by writer in sex-abuse case
View Date:2024-12-24 20:15:22
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyer on Friday renewed a mistrial request in a New York defamation case against the former president, saying that an advice columnist who accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1990s spoiled her civil case by deleting emails from strangers who threatened her with death.
Attorney Alina Habba told a judge in a letter that writer E. Jean Carroll’s trial was ruined when Habba elicited from Carroll through her questions that Carroll had deleted an unknown number of social media messages containing death threats.
She said Carroll “failed to take reasonable steps to preserve relevant evidence. In fact, she did much worse — she actively deleted evidence which she now attempts to rely on in establishing her damages claim.”
When Habba first made the mistrial request with Trump sitting beside her as Carroll was testifying Wednesday, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied it without comment.
In her letter, Habba said the deletions were significant because Carroll’s lawyers have made the death threats, which they blame on Trump’s statements about Carroll, an important reason why they say the jury should award Carroll $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.
The jury is only deciding what damages, if any, to award to Carroll after a jury last year found that Trump sexually abused her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman store in spring 1996 and defamed her with statements he made in October 2022. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
The current trial, focused solely on damages, pertains only to two statements Trump made while president in June 2019 after learning about Carroll’s claims in a magazine article carrying excerpts from Carroll’s memoir, which contained her first public claims about Trump.
Habba noted in her letter that Carroll, 80, testified that she became so frightened when she read one of the first death threats against her that she ducked because she feared she was about to get shot.
Robbie Kaplan, an attorney for Carroll who is not related to the judge, declined comment.
Also on Friday, both sides filed written arguments at the judge’s request on whether Trump’s lawyers can argue to the jury that Carroll had a duty to mitigate any harm caused by Trump’s public statements.
Habba asked the judge to instruct the jury that Carroll had an obligation to minimize the effect of the defamation she endured.
Robbie Kaplan said, however, that Habba should be stopped from making such an argument to the jury, as she already did in her opening statement, and that the jury should be instructed that what Habba told them was incorrect.
“It would be particularly shocking to hold that survivors of sexual abuse must keep silent even as their abuser defames them publicly,” she wrote.
The trial resumes Monday, when Trump will have an opportunity to testify after Carroll’s lawyers finish presenting their case.
veryGood! (89228)
Related
- Video ‘bares’ all: Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
- As conservative states target trans rights, a Florida teen flees for a better life
- Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt
- Ireland Baldwin Shares Glimpse Into Her First Week of Motherhood With Baby Holland
- Taylor Swift's Mom Andrea Gives Sweet Nod to Travis Kelce at Chiefs Game
- Assault suspect who allegedly wrote So I raped you on Facebook still on the run 2 years after charges were filed
- Jason Sudeikis Has a Slam Dunk Father-Son Night Out With His and Olivia Wilde's 9-Year-Old Otis
- Selling Sunset’s Nicole Young Details Online Hate She's Received Over Feud With Chrishell Stause
- Reds honor Pete Rose with a 14-hour visitation at Great American Ball Park
- Missing sub passenger knew risks of deep ocean exploration: If something goes wrong, you are not coming back
Ranking
- Will Trump’s hush money conviction stand? A judge will rule on the president-elect’s immunity claim
- Critically endangered twin cotton-top tamarin monkeys the size of chicken eggs born at Disney World
- Car rams into 4 fans outside White Sox ballpark in Chicago
- Florida deputy gets swept away by floodwaters while rescuing driver
- Man who stole and laundered roughly $1B in bitcoin is sentenced to 5 years in prison
- Joe Alwyn Steps Out for First Public Event Since Taylor Swift Breakup
- Looking for a refreshing boost this summer? Try lemon water.
- Let's go party ... in space? First Barbie dolls to fly in space debut at Smithsonian museum
Recommendation
-
The NBA Cup is here. We ranked the best group stage games each night
-
Cause of Keystone Pipeline Spill Worries South Dakota Officials as Oil Flow Restarts
-
Brittany Snow Hints She Was “Blindsided” by Tyler Stanaland Divorce
-
Pandemic hits 'stop button,' but for some life is forever changed
-
Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Everglades Scientist Accused of Stealing ‘Trade Secrets’
-
It's never too late to explore your gender identity. Here's how to start
-
Jason Sudeikis Has a Slam Dunk Father-Son Night Out With His and Olivia Wilde's 9-Year-Old Otis
-
Brazil police raid ex-President Bolsonaro's home in COVID vaccine card investigation