Donald Trump, sued by writer E. Jean Carroll, has chosen not to take the stand at his civil trial in New York. Carroll claimed he raped her in a department store dressing room and later defamed her in his public denial. Judge Lewis Kaplan gave him until 5 p.m. Sunday to say he'd show. The trial now goes to closing arguments today, both sides having already presented their cases.
Trump's lawyers said last week that their client will not testify and that they are not putting on any witnesses — a position attorney Joe Tacopina reiterated at the end of court Thursday when he rested their case. He told the judge that he'd spoken to Trump earlier that day and that the former president had waived his right to testify. Trump, however, told reporters on a golf course in Ireland last week that he was "going back to New York" because of the case.
Sounds like he wanted to do it and it had to be explained to him what a terribly bad idea it would be. The best evidence against him was his own videotaped deposition, after all, in which he was content to double-down on his past remarks boasting of sexual assault and misidentified Carroll as his then-wife Marla Maples after having earlier claimed she wasn't his "type."
