Lawyer for E. Jean Carroll suggests Trump misrepresented need to adjourn trial

The attorney for writer E. Jean Carroll suggested that the lawyer for former President Trump misrepresented the former president’s need to delay the trial in connection to $10 million in defamation damages that the writer is seeking. 

Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer for Carroll, submitted a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Saturday regarding the former president’s one-week adjournment request of the trial to attend the funeral of Melania Trump’s mother. Kaplan wrote in the letter that Trump’s legal team said the former president could not attend the trial on Jan. 17 because he would be “traveling with family.”

However, Carroll’s attorney noted that Trump’s campaign scheduled an event featuring the former president on Jan. 17 in New Hampshire. 

“There was no mention made of any scheduling conflict in connection with Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign,” Kaplan wrote in the letter. “It has come to our attention, however, that a campaign event featuring Mr. Trump has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, in New Hampshire.”

“We bring this to the Court’s attention because the same counsel who made representations about Mr. Trump’s availability on Wednesday are making filings today and tomorrow addressing their willingness to comply with the Court’s evidentiary rulings and other orders,” the letter states.

Trump said last week he planned to attend the trials of all his upcoming legal battles in person, including the trial with Carroll starting Tuesday. After the death of his mother-in-law, Trump’s legal team asked the court to adjourn the trial for one week so that the former president could travel with his family and attend the funeral on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18. 

“Accordingly, President Trump, who plans to attend his trial, will not be able to be present on Wednesday and Thursday as he will be traveling to be with his family and be attending the funeral. Given that this is one of life’s sad unexpected realities, President Trump would greatly appreciate this minor accommodation during this difficult time,” Trump attorney Alina Habba wrote in the letter to the judge.

The judge ultimately denied the motion to adjourn the trial for one week — a decision that Trump blasted on social media.

“Lewis Kaplan, the terrible, biased, irrationally angry Clinton-appointed Judge in the Bergdorf’s Hoax, refused to postpone the sham trial next week, even in light of the funeral of my beloved Mother-in-law. This Judge has been ruthlessly unfair from the first day of Crooked Joe Biden’s Election Interfering Witch Hunt,” he wrote on Truth Social.

The judge issued a memorandum on the denial of the postponement request on Sunday, explaining that delaying the trial could cause disruptions for the jurors, staff and other procedural arrangements.

“On January 12, 2024, three days after the announcement of the death of Mrs. Trump’s mother and the day before the defendant’s request, his counsel informed the Court by email that Mr. Trump would attend the trial. The trial date in this case was set seven months ago. A jury panel was summoned some time ago,” the judge said.

“A postponement would disrupt and inconvenience prospective jurors, counsel, court staff, and security arrangements and likely cause other logistical and scheduling problems. Accordingly, the Court denied the request but noted that defendant is free to attend the funeral, the trial or both,” the memo continued.

The judge said that if Trump’s defense team is done presenting their case on Thursday except his testimony, the court will pause the trial until following Monday to allow Trump to attend the funeral.

The lawyer for Carroll also noted in the letter that a separate Truth Social post by Trump included false information.

“We further note that, today, Mr. Trump posted a statement on Truth Social in which he falsely wrote that he had moved to adjourn the upcoming trial only for ‘one day’ and that the trial ‘could have taken place at any time, including months ago,’” the letter reads.

The funeral for Amalija Knavs is scheduled for Jan. 18 in Florida. According to his campaign website, Trump has a campaign event scheduled in Portsmouth, N.H., on Jan. 17. 

The trial will determine what Trump owes in defamation damages after a jury concluded last year that Trump sexually abused Carroll. 

Updated at 3:51 pm.