Writer and former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll was back on the witness stand Thursday in her second defamation trial against Donald Trump in New York. Trump was not there as his lawyer cross-examined Carroll. Photo by Louis Lanzano/UPI |
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Jan. 18 (UPI) -- E. Jean Carroll Thursday continued her testimony under cross-examination in her civil defamation case against Donald Trump, this time with Trump absent from the courtroom.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba questioned Carroll about whether she's more well-known now than before she accused Trump of sexually abusing her, which a jury has already determined did happen, as the court attempts to determine whether Carroll is entitled to $10 million more for further defamatory remarks from Trump.
"Yes, but I am hated by a lot more people," Carroll replied.
Habba also questioned Carroll on her income as a magazine writer, focusing on an assertion that Carroll's career had declined by 2018 and implying that's when Carroll decided to write a book that included the allegations of sexual assault by Trump decades before.
Carroll, who was awarded $5 million in the initial case that determined that Trump did sexually abuse and defame her, said she currently makes about $100,000 from Substack posts.
Habba also asked Carroll about social media reactions to her New York Magazine 2019 story that told the story of being sexually abused by Trump.
Habba's cross-examination included reading several harsh social media posts against Carroll in the five hours between her story being published and Trump's public reaction to the sexual abuse story.
The questioning attempted to make the point that those posts occurred even before Trump called her a liar for telling the sexual abuse story.
During her initial testimony on Wednesday, Carroll said that she received immediate and unexpected harassment from Trump's supporters after coming forward with the allegations.
Her attorney Shawn Crowley, noted that Trump made the defaming statements about Carroll while he was president, adding to their impact, and that he went beyond claiming the encounter was consensual by denying he had ever met Carroll and accusing her of fabricating the story for publicity.
Judge Lewis Kaplan threatened to remove Trump from Carroll's trial Wednesday unless he stopped loud comments audible by the jury that included "It's a witch hunt" and the proceedings were "a con job."
He was not present in the courtroom Thursday as he was in Florida to attend a funeral for his mother-in-law Amalija Knavs, the mother of former first lady Melania Trump.
Kaplan had previously denied a motion by Trump's attorneys to delay the trial for week to avoid conflicting with the funeral date.
However, the judge noted that Trump, who was not required to appear in court for Carroll's testimony could leave to attend the funeral without facing penalties from the court.
