Trump expected back at Carroll trial as anticipation grows over potential testimony

Former President Trump is expected back in court for advice columnist E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against him Monday as anticipation grows as to whether he will take the stand.

Trump has demonstrated a renewed interest in attending his court dates as the presidential primary season heats up, turning his courtroom appearances into campaign stops and portraying himself as a victim in his various civil and criminal cases.

But it remains to be seen whether the former president, who has vowed to testify at previous trials before opting against it at the last minute, will follow through this time. If he takes the stand, Trump would be limited in what he can tell jurors.

An answer could come soon, however, as Carroll’s legal team concludes calling witnesses and Trump’s lawyers begin their defense case. Trump could testify as soon as Monday, and the jury is likely to begin deliberations later this week.

“Tomorrow, you know where I’m gonna be? I don’t have to be there, but I want to be there, because otherwise I can’t get a fair shake: I’m going to be in court,” Trump told supporters at a Rochester, N.H., campaign event Sunday.

Carroll is seeking at least $10 million for defamation over Trump’s denials that he sexually assaulted the advice columnist in the 1990s. Trump has claimed Carroll made up the story to sell her book.

It marks the second time the longtime advice columnist has taken Trump to civil trial. Last year, Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting Carroll, and the judge already ruled that verdict means Trump’s denials are automatically defamatory, so the jury is now only weighing how much the former president must pay.

Jury selection took place last Tuesday, hours after Trump pulled off a historic win in the Iowa caucuses, the first 2024 presidential nominating contest in the nation.

The former president and Republican 2024 front-runner spent the next two days in New York as Carroll’s trial kicked off, including when the advice columnist took the stand herself.

Trump missed the proceedings Thursday, instead attending his mother-in-law’s funeral in Florida after the judge rejected a request from the former president’s attorneys for a delay. Court was not held Friday.

The former president is expected to return to the trial Monday before heading to a campaign event in New Hampshire scheduled for the evening, one day before the state’s primary.

While in court, the proceedings have turned testy at times.

The judge reportedly threatened to kick Trump out of the courtroom at one point Wednesday for being “disruptive,” with Carroll’s lawyers complaining the former president was muttering comments about the case being a “witch hunt” and “con job” in earshot of jurors.

Trump has continued to disparage Carroll as the trial proceeded, issuing dozens of Truth Social posts about her and speaking about the trial on the campaign trail.

“A totally fabricated story, it’s all fabricated,” Trump said Sunday in New Hampshire.

But with the trial only being held on the issue of damages, the judge has limited what Trump can say if he does take the stand.

Trump would be barred from contesting that the sexual assault occurred and mentioning funding provided toward Carroll’s legal expenses by a nonprofit backed by a Democratic mega-donor, as well as other topics that Trump has espoused in public in recent days.

But Trump has publicly expressed regret for not testifying at Carroll’s previous trial, saying his lawyer advised him against it.