Citing a history of “pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings” by the Manhattan federal court judge, attorneys for former President Donald Trump pressed Judge Lewis Kaplan to approve their request for a mistrial in the Trump v. E. Jean Carroll civil rape case.
However, without explanation, a Manhattan federal court Judge denied the motion.
Attorney Joe Tacopina’s letter to the court on behalf of Trump requested that Kaplan “correct the record for each and every instance in which the Court has mischaracterized the facts of this case to the jury” or provide wide latitude in his ability to cross-examine Carroll.
Tacopina wrote: “Here, despite the fact trial testimony has been underway for only two days, the proceedings are already replete with numerous examples of Defendant’s unfair treatment by the Court, most of which has been witnessed by the Jury.”
The New York Post reported that Carroll, 79, testified last week that Trump, 76, “raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in midtown Manhattan, most likely in the spring of 1996.” The incident reportedly occurred during regular store hours when the store was open for business.
Carroll did not report the incident for more than 20 years and has had difficulty noting the day, month or year the alleged rape occurred. Trump’s attorneys allege Carroll made the salacious claims to increase sales of her 2019 memoir.
Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. In a recent post, the former president referred to the trial as a “total sham.” Kaplan took issue with the comment and admonished Trump’s legal team.
Tacopina has complained he was not allowed to “explore why she did not pursue security footage from the store and why she did not go to the police after the alleged incident,” according to the Post.
In response to a question about why she did not alert store staff or customers at the time of the alleged attack, Carroll replied: “You can’t beat up on me because I didn’t scream,” then added that she was “not a screamer — I’m a fighter.”
When Tacopina continued to press Carroll regarding why she did not try to alert customers that she was being attacked, Kaplan stopped the line of questioning.
When asked why she did not report the rape to the police, Carroll replied, “The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising from someone my age. I would never call the police about something I was ashamed of.”
“I was ashamed about what happened,” Carroll added. “I thought it was my fault.”
Carroll and her legal team have declined requests for comment.
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