Trump Storms Out of Court During E. Jean Carroll Closing Arguments

Donald Trump stormed out of a Manhattan courtroom on Friday as lawyers for E. Jean Carroll delivered their closing arguments in the author’s second civil defamation case against the former president. 

As Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, addressed the jury, Trump stood up from his place at the defense table and left the room. According to Politico, the former president’s outburst came shortly after Kaplan stated Trump hadn’t even waited 24 hours before disrespecting the verdict in Carroll’s first case against him, in which Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan (no relation to Roberta Kaplan) interrupted the attorney’s arguments to ensure that the court record reflected Trump’s sudden departure. 

Trump’s legal adviser, Boris Epshteyn, attempted to follow the former president out of the room, only to be interrupted by the judge who said that “defense counsel ought to remain seated. And that includes you, Mr. Epshteyn, even though you aren’t part of the defense counsel.”

Things were already tense in the courtroom before closing arguments began. Judge Kaplan warned Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, that she was “on the verge of spending some time in the lockup,” after Habba repeatedly attempted to have extraneous social media posts attacking Carroll introduced into evidence despite the judge’s repeated denials. “Now sit down,” Kaplan instructed Habba, an echo of his past spats with her over the course of the trial. 

Before the jury was brought into the chamber, Judge Kaplan also instructed the court that “no one in the courtroom is to say anything except for opposing counsel to say objection. … No audible comments by anybody else.”

Throughout the trial, Judge Kaplan has repeatedly reprimanded Trump for making audible comments reacting to testimony from witnesses while the jury was present in the room. Last week, Kaplan threatened to have the former president kicked out of the chamber if he did not control himself. “Mr. Trump has the right to be present here, but that right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive and if he disregards court orders,” the judge said. “I understand you are very eager for me to do that, I know you would because you just can’t control yourself in this circumstance.” 

On Thursday, Trump took the witness stand for a surprisingly brief testimony and cross-examination. Despite only being questioned for a few minutes, Trump managed to break Kaplan’s rules prohibiting him from casting doubt on the veracity of Carroll’s accusations against him twice before concluding his testimony. 

In her closing arguments, Roberta Kaplan stated that Carroll is seeking between $7 and $12.1 million in restitutional damages alone, with additional punitive damages and reputational repair compensation. 

“This case is about how to compensate Ms. Carroll for the harm Donald Trump’s original statements in June 2019 caused her,” Roberta Kaplan said. “This case is also about punishing Donald Trump for what he has done and for what he continues to do… This trial is about getting him to stop once and for all.”