Conservatives know Trump’s trials are a witch hunt. But no one thought they’d be so brazen.
And now a federal judge threatened Trump directly to his face.
During his defamation trial against E. Jean Carroll, former President Donald Trump exchanged harsh words with U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan on Wednesday.
Trump was in court in Manhattan for the second day in a row as a jury deliberated on how much he should pay Carroll after being found guilty last year for s*xually abusing and defaming the magazine columnist, according to The New York Post.
The former president was chastised by the judge after Carroll’s lawyer accused him of speaking too loudly about Carroll.
According to The Post, Kaplan stated, “Mr. Trump has the right to be present here, but that right can be forfeited if he is disruptive or disregards our orders.”
Then Carroll’s lawyers informed the judge that Trump had told the jurors, “It is a witch hunt. It’s a con.”
“Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to—” the judge started reprimanding Trump again.
“I would love it. I would love it,” Trump reportedly said, throwing his hands in the air.
“I understand that you are probably very eager for me to do that,” Kaplan responded. “I know you would like that, because you just can’t control yourself in this circumstance, apparently.”
“You can’t either,” Trump shot back.
Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday that Kaplan has “absolute hatred” for him.
“The only right, honest, and lawful thing that Clinton-appointed Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has so far been unable to see clearly because of his absolute hatred of Donald J. Trump (ME!), can do is to end this unAmerican injustice being done to a President of the United States, who was wrongfully accused by a woman he never met, saw, or touched (a photo line does not count!), and knows absolutely nothing about,” Trump said.
Trump’s legal team asked the judge to postpone the trial so the former president could attend his mother-in-law Amalija Knavs’ burial on Thursday.
Kaplan dismissed the request and subsequently denied providing an adjournment on Thursday to allow Trump to attend the funeral.
Kaplan allegedly stated that Trump was not required to attend the entire trial and might testify on a different day.
Carroll is seeking $10 million in damages in addition to the $5 million that a jury ordered Trump to pay last spring.
In a 2019 essay, Carroll accused Trump of r*ping her in a department store changing room in 1996.
Trump disputed the s*xual assault allegations, and the magazine columnist later sued him for defamation.
He has also stated that he never met Carroll and that her charges are “fake.”
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
