A Manhattan judge overseeing the defamation case against Donald Trump warned that he would toss the former president out of the courtroom if he kept making snarky comments that the jury could hear.
(Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Images)
"Mr. Trump has a right to be present here," said Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. "That right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, which is what has been reported to me, and if he disregards court orders."
Kaplan then addressed Trump directly, saying: "Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial," to which Trump replied: "I would love it."
"I understand you’re probably very eager for me to do that because you just can’t control yourself," Kaplan replied, to which Trump shot back "You can't either."
The exchange followed an objection raised by Shawn Crowley, one of E. Jean Carroll's attorneys, over the issue of Trump speaking loudly enough to potentially be within earshot of the jury, after Trump told his attorney that Carroll's allegation "really is a con job" and a "witch hunt," Crowley told the judge.
Kaplan also told Habba to "sit down" after she requested an adjournment tomorrow so Trump could attend his mother-in-law's funeral – a request Kaplan had previously denied.
Wednesday's trial began after Trump denied Carroll's claim that he had raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump claimed he didn't know Carroll, and said that she only branded him as a rapist to boost sales of her memoir.
Carroll, 80, testified that Trump's lies destroyed her reputation for telling he truth, and is seeking $10 million on top of a May award of $5 million.
"I am here because Donald Trump assaulted me, and when I wrote about it, he said it never happened," Carroll said, adding "He lied, and it shattered my reputation."