Donald Trump gave just three minutes of evidence Thursday in a defamation trial to determine how much he might owe to a writer he called a liar after she accused him of rape in 2019.
Jean Carroll, 80, is seeking damages of more than $10 million (7.87 million pounds sterling) because of his denial while he was president of the United States that he attacked her in a store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.
she claimed Trump card Her reputation was ruined when she accused him in her memoirs Sexually assaulting her In 1996 in the dressing room of luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman.
E. Jean Carroll arrives at Manhattan Federal Court. Photo: Reuters
The restrictions on Trump's testimony in the civil case were imposed by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
The judge told jurors they had to accept the findings of another New York jury which awarded Ms Carroll $5m (£3.93m) after concluding that he had sexually assaulted her in the store and had defamed her in a similar denial in October 2022.
The current trial in Manhattan federal court focuses solely on statements Trump made in June 2019 while he was president of the United States. These claims have been delayed for four years due to the appeal.
During the short period he spent testifying, Trump answered questions from his lawyer, Alina Haba.
The former president said Ms. Carroll “said something that I considered a false accusation.”
Ms. Carroll's attorney objected and Judge Kaplan asked the jury to ignore that remark.
Trump later said: “I just wanted to defend myself, my family and, frankly, the presidency.”
This also raised an objection and further instructions from the judge for the jury to ignore.
As Trump left the courtroom in New York, he shook his head and repeatedly said: “This is not America. This is not America. This is not America.”
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Trump, 77, has denied these accusations for the past five years and continues to attack the former Elle magazine columnist during the presidential campaign.
Carroll was present during Trump's swearing-in as a witness in court.
The former president, who scored big victories in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary and last week's Iowa caucuses, appeared relatively calm in court before his testimony compared to… Previous appearances.
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Trump also faces four criminal cases as the presidential primary season heats up.
He has been switching between court appearances and the campaign trail, using both to argue that he is being persecuted by Democrats.
