The judge presiding over E. Jean Carroll’s second defamation trial engaged in a “very testy exchange” with Donald Trump’s lawyer when she requested an adjournment or delay in the proceedings of the case.
He also threatened to throw the real estate mogul-turned-politician out of his court for being “disruptive.”
Attorney Alina Habba asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday, Jan. 16, whether her client could attend his mother-in-law Amalija Knavs ‘s funeral, a move that, if granted, would potentially delay the trial. Kaplan promptly denied the request.
Politico reporter Erica Orden recorded the back-and-forth on her X profile.
“The application is denied,” the judge asked. “I will hear no further argument on it.”
Habba: “I don’t like to be spoken to that way, your honor.” She continued to ask for an adjournment, at which point Kaplan cut her off again:
“It’s denied. Sit down.”
— erica orden (@eorden) January 17, 2024
Habba continued to push her request but was shut down immediately by the bench, who said, “None. Do you understand that word? Sit down.”
“I don’t like to be spoken to that way, your honor, and we are going to be here for several days,” Habba said and continued to inquire about the adjournment. But Kaplan did not budge on his decision, telling her, “It’s denied. Sit down.”
This is not the first time that Habba has asked the judge to push the trial back, and each time, her request has been met with a rejection.
This is the second trial for Carroll vs. Trump.
At the crux of the case is an allegation by Carroll, who was a columnist for Elle Magazine from 1993 through 2019, becoming one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing, alleges that Trump raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman store’s dressing room in New York City during the 1990s.
In May, a jury ruled in Carroll’s favor, ordering the former president to pay her $5 million for sexual…
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