Former United States President Donald Trump's lawyers filed a motion seeking a new trial for the Republican businessman's E. Jean Carroll case or a potential reduction in the $88.3 million penalty.
The lawyers argued on Tuesday that their client deserves a new trial as well as a fresh chance to tell a jury why he berated the writer for her sex abuse claims against him. The initial $83.3 million penalty was raised to $88.3 million after a separate jury last May awarded $5 million to the longtime advice columnist.
Trump Lawyers Seek New Trial
This was after they concluded that the former president sexually abused her in the spring of 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury department store in midtown Manhattan and then defamed the writer with comments in October 2022.
The judge in the case, Lewis A. Kaplan ordered the jury in January to accept the findings of the earlier jury and only decide how much the former president owed Carroll for two statements that he issued in 2019. This was after excerpts from the writer's memoir were published by a magazine, as per the Associated Press.
Carroll then testified that the comments made by the former president ruined her career and left her fearing for her life after receiving threats from strangers online. Trump did not attend the May trial but regularly went to this year's trial. He repeatedly shook his head and loudly grumbled while he was sitting.
The judge then threatened to ban the former president from the courtroom, and severely limited testimony from him. The Republican businessman's complaints about the writer continued during the trial from the campaign trail and provided fresh exhibits for Carroll's lawyers to show to the jury.
Lawyers wrote that the court's erroneous decision to dramatically limit Trump's testimony influenced the jury's verdict, arguing that this warranted a new trial. Additionally, the defense argued that the former president deserves to have the chance to explain why he spoke as he did about the columnist.
Defending Himself and His Family
The request also comes as Trump has asked Judge Kaplan to give him more time to post the bond. The former president asked to be given 30 days after the judge rules on post-trial briefs, which is something that Carroll opposed, according to CNN.
The writer argued that the former prescient has not provided any evidence that he will be able to afford the payment and the judge is currently weighing the request. In the latest legal motion of Trump's lawyers, the legal experts focused on the former president's testimony and one particular exchange.
This was when the Republican businessman was asked if he ever instructed anyone to hurt Carroll in his statements. The former president replied, "No. I just wanted to defend myself, my family, and frankly, the presidency." When an attorney for Carroll objected, the judge struck the testimony from the record after the word, "no."
Trump's lawyers, Alina Habba and John Sauer, said that just before the former president took the stand at trial, the court had already engaged in a colloquy with defense counsel. They argued that this was designed to restrict the scope of their client's testimony, said The Hill.
