Trump Lies That He Wasn’t Able to Defend Himself in Rape Trial

UPDATE: A jury determined on Tuesday that Donald Trump is liable for defamation and battery of E. Jean Carroll.

Donald Trump wants you to know that in the civil rape lawsuit jurors will begin deliberating on Tuesday, he is the real victim.

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“Waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation where I, despite being a current political candidate and leading all others in both parties, am not allowed to speak or defend myself, even as hard nosed reporters scream questions about this case at me,” the former president wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. “In the meantime, the other side has a book falsely accusing me of Rape, & is working with the press. I will therefore not speak until after the trial, but will appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, no matter the outcome!”

This is a lie. Trump has had every opportunity to defend himself in the trial. His legal team informed Judge Lewis Kaplan last week, however, that they would not be presenting any defense. A day later, Trump whined about the case to reporters overseas, teasing that he would “probably” attend the trial and that he was returning to the United States early in order to “confront” Carroll, whom he called a “disgrace.”

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina reportedly informed Judge Kaplan this would not be happening, but Kaplan still gave Trump a chance to speak at the trial, setting a Sunday evening deadline for his team to file the paperwork required for him to do so. The deadline came and went without said paperwork being filed, and Trump lost his chance to speak on his own behalf. Both sides delivered their closing arguments on Monday, and the jury is set to begin deliberating on Tuesday.

Trump has had every opportunity to defend himself in front of jurors, but he’s opted to stick to his Truth Social account — which has indeed gotten him into a little trouble with the court. Judge Kaplan told Tacopina last week that Trump may be “tampering with a new source of potential liability” by railing against Carroll on social media. The warning came hours after Trump called the allegations a “made up SCAM” and accused Carroll’s lawyer of being a “political operative.”

Carroll, a columnist who has written for Elle and other publications, accused Trump in 2019 of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-’90s. Trump bashed her repeatedly following the allegation, leading her to sue him for defamation. She filed another suit late last year, this one for battery, under New York’s recently enacted Adult Survivors Act. Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations, largely by claiming he would have never raped her because she is not his “type.” Video of Trump’s deposition released last week shows the former president mistaking Carroll for his second wife.

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