Trump Lawyers Try To Limit Damages By Keeping Their Client Far Away From Carroll Jury

Can you get a custodial sentence in a defamation case?

BREAKING: Donald Trump is a filthy coward.

Okay, it's not breaking. But it's rather top of mind today as the attorneys give their closing arguments in the E. Jean Carroll battery and defamation case. For the past two weeks, the former Elle advice columnist has presented witness after witness to corroborate her story. From the friends she told about it immediately; to the two women who were attacked by Trump in similar, public circumstances; to the Bergdorf Goodman's staff who said that Thursday nights were dead in the lingerie department, where the dressing rooms weren't always locked and Trump was a frequent patron; to the expert witness who testified about her trauma.

In contrast, Trump called ... no one. His lawyers named two potential witnesses: Dr. Edgar Nace, to rebut Carroll's trauma claims, and Trump himself. In the event, Dr. Nace noped out, citing illness, while Trump himself never showed. Although he did make idiotic mouth noises last week about coming to “confront this woman” in court, prompting Judge Lewis Kaplan to offer Trump's lawyer Joseph Tacopina the opportunity to make a motion to have his client testify.

“Breaking: Donald Trump rails against rape accuser E Jean Carroll’s “false accusations”, and tells us he will “probably” attend the trial in New York, which he calls a “scam” and a “political attack” - he says he will “confront” the claims, which he denies #Trump #Doonbeg”

— Stephen Murphy (@Stephen Murphy) 1683193988 

But the 5 p.m. deadline Sunday for Trump to move to testify came and went with nothing filed. Because of course it did . Trump's lawyers were never going to put him in the same room with the jury — FFS, they tried to get the court to preemptively "excuse" him and tell the jurors that he really wanted to be there, but was staying away out of deference for the needs of the US Marshals and New York cops it would take to protect him. To which the court said HAHA, PISS OFF, or words to that effect.

It was bad enough watching him on tape, caked with orange makeup and agreeing that "fortunately or unfortunately" powerful men have always been able to "grab 'em by the pussy" and get away with it. Even if he didn't testify, having that lunatic snorting and rolling his eyes at the table while Carroll described being sexually assaulted would have added another zero to the damage award.

And so, with no further witnesses, the two sides presented closing arguments today. Several reporters were live tweeting from the courtroom, including Inner City Press's Matthew Russell Lee and Law & Crime's Adam Klasfeld . Carroll's lawyer got the ball rolling by going back over the evidence from the past two weeks of evidence, and playing the deposition tape where Trump mistook a photo of Carroll for his second wife Marla Maples.

“In a real sense, Donald Trump is a witness against himself," she said, later reminding jurors of Trump's gross comments about the "Access Hollywood" tape: “He actually said fortunately? Let that sink in for a moment … he thinks stars like him can get away with it. And he thinks he can get away with it here,” she said.

Tacopina, who bullied the mostly female witnesses on the stand to disastrous effect, continued this strategy in his close. 

“Tacopina: Ms. Carroll had to reverse engineer her story. Then there's the physical attack she alleges. How does Mr. Trump unzip while she is hitting him with her bag, in four inch heels? So they have a hired gun, Doctor Lebowitz, $650 an hour. She was not credible”

— Inner City Press (@Inner City Press) 1683563217 

TL, DR? Bitches lie. 

Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan returned for a brief rebuttal, and tomorrow the court will issue jury instructions before sending the panel to deliberate. Notably, the plaintiff did not ask for a specific dollar amount.

Fingers crossed that they grab him by the wallet.

Catch Liz Dye on Opening Arguments podcast.

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