A federal judge in Manhattan rejected former President Donald Trump’s request for a month-long delay in his upcoming defamation trial relating to his response to rape accusations from columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the rejection on Monday, ensuring the trial will begin as scheduled on April 25. Trump’s legal team requested the month-long delay last week, arguing the publicity surrounding his indictment and arrest for business fraud charges earlier this month would taint the jury-selection process.
Kaplan rejected that argument, but made concessions to Trump’s team on their request to further investigate the funding behind Carroll’s legal team.
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Carroll has accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s, an allegation Trump denies. The trial will not directly address Carroll’s rape accusation and will instead pertain to whether Trump defamed Carroll by denying her initial accusations. Carroll’s complaint cites statements from Trump in which “he accused Carroll of lying about the rape in order to increase book sales, carry out a political agenda, advance a conspiracy with the Democratic Party, and make money.”
Trump also released a statement denying Carroll’s accusations last year prior to a deposition in the case.
“E. Jean Carroll is not telling the truth, is a woman who I had nothing to do with, didn’t know, and would have no interest in knowing her if I ever had the chance,” Trump wrote in an email to supporters. “I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event.”
The trial is just one of several cases Trump and his legal team are facing. Trump is currently defending himself against 34 counts of felony business fraud leveled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He also faces a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, and a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Trump surrendered to authorities in Manhattan in the Bragg case earlier this month. Those charges relate to his alleged role in hush payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
