Trump, E. Jean Carroll damages trial delayed over illness concerns

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Monday's hearing in the trial on how much former President Donald Trump owes writer E. Jean Carroll in damages for defaming her was postponed Monday as some of Trump's attorneys and a juror had been ill.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan accepted a request from Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, to postpone the trial for one day as she said she experienced a fever after visiting relatives who later tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.

Habba's co-counsel Michael Madaio was also exposed and a juror returned home to take a COVID test after feeling ill earlier in the morning.

As of Monday, both Habba and Madaio had tested negative for COVID-19, she said.

It had been speculated that Trump, who was again present in the courtroom, could take the stand on Monday, marking the first time he would testify on the matter after declining to do so during the initial trial that found he was liable for battery after sexually abusing Carroll in a New York department store in the 1990s and for defamation for lying about the encounter in 2019 after Carroll wrote about it in a book.

Habba requested that Trump's testimony be scheduled for Wednesday, noting Tuesday is the New Hampshire primary and Trump is still pursuing a bid to return to the White House.

Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll who is not related to the judge objected to the request saying her team "would like to get this trial over" with.

The judge said he would not decide the matter on Monday, telling Habba that "circumstances may end up with you getting what you asked for, or maybe not."

If Trump does ultimately take the stand, he will be limited in what he can address.

He will not be able to talk about the original sexual assault case, which Trump has appealed, nor who is paying Carroll's legal fees. Both have been constant topics for Trump outside of court.

Trump, who is not currently required to attend, has been present since the beginning of the trial but was absent for the last hearing on Thursday to attend a funeral for his mother-in-law Amalija Knavs, the mother of former first lady Melania Trump, after Kaplan denied a motion to delay the trial to avoid a conflict.

Carroll previously took the stand to testify again that Trump assaulted her and lied about it, adding that she had become the subject of constant threats after he made the public denials -- going as far to say he never met her -- while serving as president.

Kaplan had threatened to remove Trump from the courtroom after he was heard repeatedly making loud comments objecting to Carroll's testimony.