In a column we published today about developments in the Carroll/Trump civil trial, I noted that former president Donald Trump’s principal lawyer in the case, Joe Tacopina, had informed Judge Lewis Kaplan that his client would not be appearing or testifying at the trial, and that this signaled there would be little in the way of a defense case.
Today, Tacopina informed Kaplan that the Trump defense will not present any witnesses. That means the defense will rely on what lawyers argue are the implausible details in E. Jean Carroll’s story that she was raped by Trump in approximately spring 1996, coupled with the lines of defense — mainly, the theme of bias — that they have developed in the cross-examination of Carroll and her other witnesses.
The case began last week in Manhattan federal court. Carroll’s lawyers expect to rest their case tomorrow. Judge Kaplan has informed the jury of six men and three women that they will likely be deliberating on the case by early next week.