10 months ago
NEW YORK — A federal judge threatened to kick Donald Trump out of court Wednesday after the former president made repeated comments within earshot of the jury hearing a civil defamation trial against him.
Trump muttered that the case is a “witch hunt,” among other similar comments, according to a lawyer for the writer E. Jean Carroll, who is suing Trump over derogatory comments he made about her while he was president.
The episode prompted a stern rebuke from U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who repeatedly tussled with Trump and his lawyers during a testy courtroom session Wednesday morning.
“Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited, and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, which is what has been reported to me,” the judge said.
Kaplan then spoke directly to Trump, who was seated at the defense table. “Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial,” he said. “I understand you are probably very eager for me to do that.”
At that point, Trump threw up his hands, saying, “I would love it. I would love it.”
“I know you would. I know you would,” Kaplan replied. “You just can’t control yourself in this circumstance, apparently.”
Trump shot back: “You can’t either.”
Kaplan’s threat came after Carroll’s lawyers complained twice that Trump had muttered during Carroll’s testimony in ways they believed the jury could hear.
Carroll lawyer Shawn Crowley told the judge that Trump had said “it is a witch hunt” and “it really is a con job,” echoing comments he has previously made about the case. After jurors watched a 2023 video of Trump calling an earlier trial against Carroll a “witch hunt” and a “disgrace,” Trump said, “it’s true,” according to Crowley.
Kaplan, who has been a federal judge since 1994, also oversaw an earlier trial in a case brought by Carroll, who has accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The jury in that case ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in damages after finding Trump sexually abused and defamed her. In the new trial, which began this week, Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in damages.
Trump never set foot in the courtroom during his first Carroll trial last year. But he has attended the first two days of the current trial.
After a lunch break, one of Trump’s lawyers, Michael Madaio, asked Kaplan to recuse himself, saying Kaplan had immediately accepted the assertions of Crowley, whom Madaio noted was once a law clerk for Kaplan, and that Kaplan had displayed “general hostility” toward the defense.
Kaplan replied: “Denied.”
English (US)