In a brief but passionate moment marking the last evidence before closing arguments, former president Trump testified for around two minutes on Thursday in his defamation case brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.
As Trump attempted to thwart Carroll’s demand for a minimum of $10 million in damages for his denials of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s, his words set up a pivotal moment in the case.
Earlier in the day, Trump had been passive and quiet in court, occasionally yawning and murmuring to his attorneys.
The trial resumed after lunch and shifted to Trump’s evidence; the former president remained alert while Clinton appointee U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan argued with the attorneys.
At campaign rallies and in a series of Truth Social postings, Trump continued his years-long public criticism of Carroll’s integrity and public image.
Since the trial is confined to specific damages, Kaplan had stipulated that Trump could not testify on anything beyond those points.
Trump often interrupted his primary attorney, Alina Habba, when the court and Habba discussed the case’s ground principles.
Even when Kaplan warned the ex-president to be quiet, he persisted in his attempts to communicate with Habba.
The former Elle columnist Carroll is suing Trump for defamation for his denials in 2019, following her public accusations of assault by Trump from decades ago. Carroll herself testified last week.
Thursday was Trump’s first appearance on the stand in either of Carroll’s trials, in contrast to his previous appearance in New York for his civil fraud trial involving his commercial empire.
Habba summoned Trump to testify as a witness and had him sworn in after the jury had arrived. In his deposition, which the jury had heard hours before, Trump denied the assault once again; Habba wanted to know if he still stood by it.
“Absolutely, without a doubt,” Trump said.
Their case was rested after Trump’s testimony. Friday morning is the scheduled time for closing arguments.
