The judge in E. Jean Carroll‘s defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump blasted the ex-president in a lengthy ruling denying his request for another delay, warning he will not allow Trump to try to prejudice the jury pool then use that as reason for needing a “cooling off” period – and reminded him his situation during any delay could get worse.
“It does not sit well for Mr. Trump to promote pretrial publicity and then to claim that coverage that he promoted was prejudicial to him and should be taken into account as supporting a further delay,” wrote U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in his ten-page denial. Trump’s lawyers, citing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charging Trump with 34 felony violations, asked for a four-week delay, claiming it would be hard for him to get a fair trial.
“At bottom, Mr. Trump has failed to show that there is anything about the media coverage of his indictment or about the supposed efficacy of a ‘cooling off’ period that would warrant an adjournment of this trial.”
Judge Kaplan adds, “it is quite important to remember [also] that postponements in circumstances such as this are not necessarily unmixed blessings from the standpoint of a defendant who is hoping for the dissipation of what he regards, or says he regards, as negative publicity. Events happen during postponements. Sometimes they can make matters worse,” he says, appearing to suggest Trump might face additional indictments or other issues during his requested four-week delay.
“There is no justification for an adjournment,” Judge Kaplan states, observing that the media coverage was “significantly (though certainly not entirely) invited or provoked by Mr. Trump’s own actions.” He also noted that any claim it “would preclude selection of a fair and impartial jury on April 25 is pure speculation.”
Judge Kaplan also says Carroll filed her case more than three years ago, and, “She now is over 79 years of age and is entitled to her day in court just as both parties are entitled to a fair trial.”
The Daily Beast’s Jose Pagliery sums up Judge Kaplan’s denial and remarks, writing: “Judges all over the place are finally coming down on Trump with iron fists. The theme is usually the same: You caused your own hell, Mr. Trump.”
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