(NEW YORK) — Before cross examination of E. Jean Carroll resumes on Monday, Donald Trump’s lawyers requested a mistrial in a letter filed at dawn.
Defense attorney Joe Tacopina said Judge Lewis Kaplan has mischaracterized elements of the case and improperly shut down certain lines of questioning during cross examination.
Carroll claims the former president attacked her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. Carroll brought the lawsuit in November, saying Trump defamed her in a 2022 Truth Social post by calling her allegations “a hoax and a lie.”
Tacopina said he should have been allowed to explore why Carroll did not pursue security camera footage from Bergdorf Goodman and why Carroll did not go to the police following the alleged rape by Trump.
“[P]roof that Plaintiff never attempted to determine if any such footage of the parties existed constitutes circumstantial evidence that her accusation is false,” the letter said.
Tacopina also questioned the judge’s admonishment of a social media post by Eric Trump that revealed LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman is funding Carroll’s case.
“Eric Trump’s tweet was either factually accurate or protected opinion,” Tacopina wrote.
The judge had appeared to include the tweet when he likened social media posts by former President Trump to jury or witness tampering. Tacopina called it evidence of “unfair treatment.”
Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.
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