The hearing scheduled for Monday in New York in the defamation trial brought by a writer against Donald Trump was postponed, one of the jurors not feeling well and showing symptoms of Covid, noted an AFP journalist on site .
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Former President of the United States and ultra-favorite in the Republican primaries Donald Trump arrived at Manhattan federal court early in the morning to attend the hearing.
On the eve of the vote for the primary in the state of New Hampshire, Donald Trump was likely to testify to defend himself in the courtroom against the former columnist for Elle magazine, E. Jean Carroll, who has already had him convicted in civil proceedings in 2023 to 5 million in damages for sexual assault in 1996 and, for the first time, for defamation.
But Judge Lewis Kaplan postponed the hearing because one of the jurors had Covid symptoms and was sent home. One of Donald Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba, also indicated that she was experiencing symptoms of the virus even though she tested negative.
Despite the first resounding verdict, pronounced unanimously in May 2023 by a popular jury, Donald Trump continued to denigrate and insult the writer, whom he described as “crazy”, with a “phony story” , which he has “never seen in (his) life”.
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The second lawsuit stems from a defamation complaint by E. Jean Carroll for statements by Donald Trump in June 2019, when she first accused him of rape in a book.
Then President of the United States, he claimed that the woman who was “not his type” had invented everything to “sell a new book”. The procedure had been delayed, but this second trial was continued and opened last week.
E. Jean Carroll is seeking more than $10 million for moral and professional damages.
