In rape trial, judge denies Trump’s request to tell jury he’s ‘apologized’

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A federal judge on Thursday denied a request by Donald Trump’s legal team to instruct the jury in his upcoming civil trial on rape charges that the former president is excused from attending unless called to testify. Photo by John Nacion/UPI Former President Donald Trump is the defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll who claims Trump raped her in the 1990s. File photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE

April 20 (UPI) – A federal judge on Thursday denied a request from Donald Trump’s legal team to instruct the jury in his upcoming civil trial on rape charges that the former president is “apologizing” to attend unless called to testify.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled Trump’s lawyers’ request “premature” in a ruling on Wednesday.

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“The question of the instruction requested from the jury is premature. Mr. Trump is free to attend, to testify or both. He is also free to do none of this. If he chooses not to appear or to not testify, his counsel may renew the request,” Kaplan said in the decision.

The attorneys submitted a statement to Kaplan, asking him to advise the jury that logistical issues were the reason for Trump’s possible absence from the trial.

“While no litigant is required to appear in a civil trial, the absence of the defendant in this case, by design, avoids the logistical burdens that his presence, as a former president, would entail. for the courthouse and the City of New York. Accordingly, his presence is excused unless and until he is called by either party to testify,” reads the statement. statement submitted by Trump’s lawyers.

The former president’s legal team said the logistics of getting to and from the courthouse required days of planning and dozens of Secret Service agents, citing the recent closure of New York’s FDR Drive as an example. York.

The judge said Trump had been aware of the trial start date since early February, giving him “ample” time to plan ahead for any logistical issues.

Kaplan’s decision means they could reapply once the process begins.

Earlier this week, Kaplan denied a request to delay the start of the civil libel and battery lawsuit against Trump, brought by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Trump’s legal team had sought to delay the start of a “cooling off” period. The trial is now set to begin April 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Carrol claims Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

She filed the lawsuit in November, after New York passed the Surviving Adults Act, allowing victims to bring civil lawsuits that extend beyond the criminal statute of limitations.

Carroll’s attorneys have said they have no plans to call Trump as a witness.

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