Former President Donald Trump complained he was unable to defend himself within the trial surrounding rape allegations made by E. Jean Carroll on Tuesday, regardless of beforehand turning down a proposal to testify earlier than the jury.
A jury in New York discovered Trump accountable for sexual abuse and defamation in opposition to Carroll, former Elle journal columnist, on Tuesday, who has accused the previous president of raping her in the course of the Nineties and sued him for defamation, arguing that his remarks that she lied concerning the allegations brought on her hurt. Whereas the jury largely sided with Carroll on battery and defamation allegations, it additionally didn’t discover that Trump raped her.
Hours earlier than the jury got here to that call, Trump took to his social media platform Fact Social to jot down that he was “not allowed to talk or defend” himself within the trial Tuesday morning. In that put up, he continued to keep up his innocence, describing the allegations as “false” and pledged to handle the accusations after the trial concluded.
“Ready for a jury choice on a False Accusation the place I, regardless of being a present political candidate and main all others in each events, am not allowed to talk or defend myself, at the same time as laborious nosed reporters scream questions on this case at me,” Trump wrote.
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He continued: “Within the meantime, the opposite facet has a guide falsely accusing me of Rape, & is working with the press. I’ll due to this fact not communicate till after the trial, however will enchantment the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, irrespective of the result!”
Regardless of his insistence that he was unable to defend himself, Trump rejected a proposal from Decide Lewis Kaplan that may have allowed him to testify earlier than the jury.
After either side rested their case final Thursday, Kaplan opted to present Trump an prolonged deadline of 5 p.m. on Sunday to probably give a last-minute testimony earlier than the Manhattan jury after Trump instructed he might attend the trial throughout remarks to reporters whereas in Scotland final week.
“I’ll most likely attend (the trial) and I feel it is a shame that it is allowed to occur, false accusations in opposition to a wealthy man, or in my case in opposition to a well-known, wealthy and political particular person,” the previous president mentioned.
CNN reported that Kaplan ordered the deadline as a “precautionary” measure to permit him to testify “if he has second ideas.” Trump, nonetheless, allowed the deadline to move with out submitting a movement that he would comply with testify earlier than the jury.
Whereas Trump didn’t testify, he has lengthy maintained his innocence in different remarks to the general public, lengthy saying he by no means engaged in sexual abuse or rape in opposition to Carroll.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s marketing campaign for remark through e-mail.