NEW YORK CITY — Donald Trump almost got booted from a Manhattan courtroom when he brazenly ignored a warning to stop talking during writer E. Jean Carroll’s testimony in a second civil trial centered around her accusations that he sexually abused her.
The former president could be heard telling his lawyers Wednesday that “it is a witch hunt” and “it really is a con job.” Those remarks prompted Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to warn Trump that his right to be present at the trial could be revoked.
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“I understand you’re probably eager for me to do that,” the judge said.
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“I would love that,” Trump responded.
The testy courtroom exchange is only the latest for Trump, who has shown nothing but contempt for opposing attorneys, witnesses, court staff and even judges in the various civil and criminal cases he faces.
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Trump took to his Truth Social account after Wednesday’s hearing to accuse Kaplan of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“It is impossible for me to get a fair trial in front of this Judge,” Trump posted.
The trial follows a May 2023 verdict in which jurors found Trump sexually abused Carroll, a popular advice columnist who said Trump had assaulted her in a posh Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s.
Those jurors awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, but they rejected Carroll’s accusation that Trump raped her.
The new trial that began this week covers how much more Trump will be ordered to pay Carroll for other remarks he made about her while he was president in 2019.
“I’m here because Donald Trump assaulted me and when I wrote about it, he said it never happened,” Carroll testified. “He lied and shattered my reputation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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