Trump lawyers won’t call any witnesses in civil rape trial

The legal team for former President Trump announced Wednesday it does not plan to call any witnesses in the New York civil trial regarding writer E. Jean Carroll’s allegation that Trump raped her in the 1990s.

Carroll is suing Trump for defamation and battery after Trump publicly denied allegations by Carroll that he raped her in a New York department store in the 1990s, saying she made up the claim to sell books. 

Carroll’s testimony in the case concluded Monday after a pair of witnesses meant to back her story also testified in the case. On Wednesday, Trump’s team said it would not call any witnesses of its own, according to The Associated Press. 

There were only two listed witnesses the Trump team could call in the case, according to court filings, and the list included Trump himself. The other listed possible witness was psychiatrist Edgar Nace.

But Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said the team decided not to put Nace on the stand after learning health issues would prevent him from testifying, according to The AP. Tacopina had already said the former president would not testify.

Carroll’s team indicated it could finish presenting the case this week, with a number of witnesses — including a former writer for People magazine who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in 2005 — still possibly set to be called.

Testimonies over the past week included that of a longtime friend of Carroll’s, who said the writer called her in the immediate aftermath of the alleged attack and that she urged Carroll to go to the police. It also included testimony from a woman who claimed Trump molested her on an airplane in the 1970s.