Former President Trump has requested a mistrial in E. Jean Carroll’s civil suit against him, claiming the judge has issued “unfair” rulings in the case.
Trump’s legal team argued in a letter, filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, that a mistrial should be granted “based upon pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings by the Court,” according to The Hill.
Carroll, 79, has accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City in the 1990s. Carroll, a longtime columnist for Elle magazine, is suing for battery and defamation, claiming that Trump defamed her when he denied the allegations.
“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen,” Carroll began her testimony, according to the report. “He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back.”
In the 18-page letter, Trump attorney Joe Tacopina lays out a number of alleged reasons for a mistrial, including arguments that the court, led by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, has “mischaracterized evidence” in Carroll’s favor and sustained improper objections from the plaintiff’s team.
If a mistrial isn’t granted, Tacopina argued in the Monday filing, the court should correct the record and give Trump’s team more latitude to cross-examine Caroll and other plaintiff witnesses.
Carroll’s suit is one of a number of court battles now facing the former president. He was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by the Manhattan district attorney last month for his alleged role in a 2016 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump is also facing a potential indictment in Georgia for his attempt to overturn the election results in the state.
