New York, NY – A lawyer representing E. Jean Carroll in her defamation case against former President Donald Trump has raised objections to the scheduling of a major campaign event during the period when Trump had requested a trial delay to attend his “beloved mother-in-law’s” funeral. Attorney Roberta Kaplan, representing Carroll, submitted a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan pointing out that Trump’s campaign had organized an event in New Hampshire next week, coinciding with the trial proceedings.
In the letter, Kaplan pointed out that Trump had not mentioned any scheduling conflict with his presidential campaign when seeking a delay for the trial. However, it has now come to light that a campaign event featuring Trump has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, in New Hampshire.
Previously, Trump’s legal team had informed the judge that the former president would be unable to attend the trial due to the funeral of his mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, who passed away last week. In a letter to the judge, Trump’s attorney Alina Habba had requested a delay, stating that President Trump “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.”
However, the judge denied Trump’s request, extending his condolences to the Trump family and affirming that the former president had the freedom to attend the trial, the funeral, or both as he wished.
Following the judge’s decision, Trump expressed dissatisfaction on social media, criticizing the judge as “ruthlessly unfair” and a “bad person” for not allowing him to attend his “beloved mother-in-law’s” funeral.
The funeral is reportedly scheduled for January 18. Carroll’s attorney had offered some flexibility by proposing to end Thursday’s proceedings early, allowing Trump to travel until the following Monday. Nevertheless, she emphasized that any delay would be highly prejudicial, particularly due to Trump’s near-daily defamation of Ms. Carroll in connection with his presidential campaign.
This case marks Trump’s second legal battle with writer Carroll, seeking to determine further damages for defamation. In a prior lawsuit, a jury had already awarded Carroll $5 million in sexual abuse and defamation damages. Carroll sued Trump after he denied her accusation of sexual assault in a Manhattan department store dressing room during the 1990s, publicly calling her a lying “wack job.”
Trump has persistently attacked Carroll, notably on his new social media platform Truth Social, where he has labeled the case against him as “fraudulent.”
In summary, a lawyer representing E. Jean Carroll has raised concerns about the scheduling of a campaign event by former President Donald Trump during the period he had requested a trial delay to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral. Despite Trump’s request being denied, he remains critical of the judge’s decision. The trial proceedings will continue as scheduled, and Carroll’s defamation case against Trump is ongoing.