Testy judge slaps down lawyer Alina Habba as she again pushes for Trump trial delay – Raw Story
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Donald Trump's attempt to use his dead mother-in-law's funeral to postpone his $10 million defamation trial was slapped down Tuesday by a testy New York City judge, reports show.
"You asked me for a week's adjournment and I denied it," Judge Lewis Kaplan snapped at Trump's attorney Alina Habba, according to ABC News. "The repetition is not accomplishing anything."
Trump's lawyers wanted to push the trial back a week to allow him to attend the funeral for Melania's mother Amalija Knavs on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
“I am not stopping him from being there,” the judge reportedly said.
“No," Habba replied, "you’re stopping him from being here.”
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While Kaplan denied the adjournment, he has granted Trump a continuance to allow the former president to testify on Monday, the report shows.
E. Jean Carroll's defamation case — in which Trump has already been found liable — was originally slated to end this week.
This is one of two lawsuits the former journalist has filed against Trump, whom she accuses of sexually abusing her in a department store in the early 1990s and defaming her with his denials.
Donald Trump’s courtroom shenanigans have already begun to “add zeros” to the payout he’ll be ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit, an MSNBC legal analyst predicts.
Katie Phang had a ringside seat Tuesday in the New York City court where both the former president and Carroll, the woman Trump has been found liable of sexually abusing and defaming, appeared in the same room for the first time in years.
“Trump appearing for this trial will most assuredly just be adding more zeros to that jury verdict,” Phang writes. “He appears to have failed to learn his lesson.”
Phang points to Trump’s inability to remain quiet on the subject of Carroll — his Truth Social account smeared the former journalist even as he sat in the courtroom — and the no-nonsense demeanor of Lewis Kaplan, the federal judge overseeing the trial.
“If Trump tries to pull any stunts before Kaplan, who runs a very, very tight ship, the former president could be looking at being held in contempt,” Phang argues.
“There’s no leeway for theatrics or drama by Trump — in Kaplan’s own words, ‘no do-overs allowed.’’”
These extra antics can only build on the strength of the case brought by Carroll, who successfully sued the former president for defamation and sexual abuse last year, Phang argues.
Trump has been found liable both for sexual abuse in a luxury Manhattan department store in the 1990s and the denials a jury found last year to be defamatory against Carroll. Trump denies wrongdoing.
The current trial involves other comments Trump directed at Carroll in 2019, while president. The judge has already found him liable, meaning the jury is considering damages.
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Carroll’s legal team comes to this trial with an experienced expert witness the previous jury found “compelling and credible,” Phang writes.
In comparison, Trump has taken to television and social media to echo claims Kaplan has already ruled to be defamatory.
“His offensive conduct has been covered widespread by the media,” Phang concludes, “which means a very high probability that prospective jurors have also heard and seen his repeated defamation of Carroll, which always presents its own challenge.”
Longtime Donald Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn tried to speak out in the defamation trial brought by author E. Jean Carroll on Tuesday. He was denied.
Politico legal reporter Eric Orden captured the moment on social media, quoting Judge Lewis Kaplan as he asked Epshteyn, "Are you a member of the bar of this court?"
Epshteyn replied, "I'm a member of the New York State Bar."
"Alright, then please have a seat," said the judge.
The MAGA purist Epshteyn has been previously criticized by former Trump attorneys for playing into the former president's worst instincts.
In September, three sources with information about the departure of Trump lawyer Drew Findling's told Rolling Stone that his exit was, in part, about Epshteyn.
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It's the "same kind of power struggles that have long plagued Trump’s legal teams, even (or, especially) during times when Trump is trying his hardest to stay out of prison," the report said.
Former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, doesn't think much of Epshteyn either.
"So, good luck because Boris is a moron," he told MSNBC's Katie Phang last July.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) proudly proclaimed success Monday finished 30 points behind Donald Trump in the Iowa Caucuses Monday — still, he's in it to win it.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that DeSantis doesn't have much of a campaign in New Hampshire after having gone all-in on Iowa. Former Gov. Nikki Haley, who finished third Monday, is getting more credit for finishing so closely behind DeSantis without spending more than $150 million on her campaign.
And she is performing well in New Hampshire, NPR reported, where Donald Trump has less of a chance of a blowout. Polls taken before Chris Christie dropped out showed him in third place and DeSantis behind even Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out Monday night.
It's likely the reason DeSantis "is facing pressure from some allies to get out of the race, according to people familiar with the conversations."
The DeSantis’ team has rejected the idea.
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“We’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” he cheered at his Iowa rally Monday night.
"DeSantis has faced questions about how long he would continue his campaign, given how intently he focused on Iowa," the Journal reported. "Still, he spun his distant-second finish Monday as a victory and insisted he would continue, with events scheduled Tuesday in South Carolina and New Hampshire."
He's also facing money woes after blowing everything on a campaign that looked more like a general election than a primary race.
“While it may take a few more weeks to fully get there, this will be a two-person race soon enough,” DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo told the Journal when asked about money.
“DeSantis has enough cash on hand to get through South Carolina and is committed to win the nomination,” said Florida lobbyist Nick Iarossi, who is helping on the campaign. “The finance team is committed to support him and raise the dollars necessary to win.”
The battle, however, is that the anti-Trump vote is being split by Haley and DeSantis, benefitting Trump.
A continuation of the Haley-DeSantis battle, however, might only benefit Trump. And Trump stands to gain from the exit Monday of Vivek Ramaswamy, who continuously praised Trump on the campaign trail and endorsed him on the way out.
Read the full report at the Wall Street Journal.
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