Trump's Trials - Trump takes the stand in defamation trial

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Trump's Trials from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow. We love Trump! This is a persecution. He actually just stormed out of the courtroom. Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Our regular episodes come out every Saturday, but there's some news in one of former President Trump's cases today. So we're going to share a story that just aired on NPR. And then we'll be back with more in our usual episode on Saturday.

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Starting point is 00:00:57 This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. You're listening to Trump's Trials. I'm Scott Detrow. And now, here's Juana Summers. Donald Trump testified for just minutes today in his own defense in the defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Carroll sued Trump after he called her a liar when she went public with her account of sexual assault. And as a warning, we will mention explicit details in this conversation. Carol is now seeking damages for the loss to her reputation, and she's looking to punish Trump for his verbal attacks. NPR's Andrea Bernstein was in court today. Hi there. Hey, Juana. Andrea, describe the scene if you can.

Starting point is 00:01:37 There had been a full morning of testimony. I'll get to that in a minute. And then promptly after lunch, out of the presence of the jury, Judge Lewis Kaplan told the former president he was not allowed to relitigate the findings of the jury in Carroll's first trial last spring. Trump chose not to testify in his own defense in that trial, so he will not have a chance to deny the assault allegations to a jury, which based on his outbursts inside the courtroom, he seemed to want to do. This is pretty graphic, but as the judge put it, it is established that, quote, Mr. Trump in fact sexually abused Ms. Carroll by forcibly inserting his fingers into her vagina. When Kaplan said this, Trump said, ugh, loudly. But Kaplan was being very clear. He did it,

Starting point is 00:02:24 and that's the law. Then there was a back and forth with Trump's attorney, Alina Haba, where Judge Kaplan wanted to know exactly what Trump was going to say. And while she was speaking, Trump said from the defense table, I never met the woman. I don't know who the woman is. Did the judge succeed in keeping Trump from speaking out of order in front of the jury? Basically, yes. At about 2.15 p.m., Trump walked heavily from the defense table to the witness stand, put up his right hand, and swore to tell the truth. The first question was about recorded pretrial testimony Trump had given in Carroll's first case that had been played earlier in the day, in which he was questioned, among other things, about saying Carroll was, quote, not his type from the resolute desk in the Oval Office. Did Trump stand by this deposition, he was asked? 100% was the answer. Did you deny the allegations because Ms. Carroll made an

Starting point is 00:03:16 accusation? Yes, I did. Did he instruct anyone to harm Ms. Carroll? He answered, I just wanted to defend myself, my family, and the presidency. So the jury was instructed to disregard everything after defend myself. After a few questions from the plaintiffs, Trump left the stand. The defense rested. The plaintiffs offered no rebuttal. Then the jury was told there will be closing arguments and instructions tomorrow. They'll get a case by lunchtime. Then Trump left the courtroom with his large entourage saying as he walked down the courtroom aisle, this is not America, which he repeated three times. Okay. And Andrea, what else happened today?

Starting point is 00:03:54 The plaintiffs called E. Jean Carroll's former editor at Elle, who described her as, quote, a truth teller and one of the most popular writers. The defense then called Carol Martin, a former news anchor in New York City in the 1990s and a friend of Carol's, she'd written a text message to a third party saying that Carol was, quote, acting like, quote, Santa at a Christmas parade, that is, enjoying the attention. Martin acknowledged those words but said she regretted writing them and other texts like that, that they didn't reflect her feelings. All right, Last thing here. Any bets on when the jury might decide? So I have given up making predictions in this case, but I will say all the jury has to decide

Starting point is 00:04:33 is how much Carol should be paid. The plaintiffs have so far asked for not less than $10 million. NPR's Andrea Bernstein. Andrea, thank you. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Trump's Trials from NPR. Keep an eye out for more episodes like this whenever big news happens. And we'll be back later this week with our regular show on Saturday. I'm Scott Detrow. Support for NPR and the following message come from SAP Concur. Thank you. Learn more at Concur.com. Listen to The Last Ride, the podcast investigating the disappearances of two men last seen with the same Florida sheriff's deputy.

Starting point is 00:05:34 Join us for a new episode, a conversation with Marcia Williams before the 20th anniversary of her son's disappearance. It's okay for you to tell my story. If you don't know who you may be talking to, that could put their finger right there. Listen to all nine episodes of The Last Ride, part of the NPR network, wherever you get your podcasts. Black perspectives haven't always been centered in the telling of America's story. Now, we're taking center stage. Introducing NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths,

Starting point is 00:05:59 a collection of Black-led stories from NPR's podcasts. Search NPR Black Stories, Black Truths, wherever you get your podcasts.

Trump's Trials - Trump takes the stand in defamation trial

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