Judge Clears Trump to Testify in Defamation Trial, Rejects Some Defense Evidence

The defamation trial, separate from a previous sexual battery and defamation suit, will determine the damages owed to E. Jean Carroll for Trump's 2019 comments.

A New York judge has cleared the way for Donald Trump to testify at his own defamation trial after lawyers for writer E. Jean Carroll raised concerns that the former president could 'sow chaos' by attending the trial, which begins Tuesday.
The trial will determine how much Trump owes Carroll in damages for defaming her in 2019, after a Carroll in September won a partial summary judgment against Trump based on the ruling in last year's case.
Judge Lewis Kaplan has ruled that Trump's legal team cannot present an interview to the jury that Carroll did with CNN's Anderson Cooper in 2019 or suggest that Carroll hoped to 'garner media attention' for her book in order to boost sales as a way to discredit her.
The lawsuit is separate from another, a sexual battery and defamation suit, filed by Carroll in which a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll at a Bergdorf Goodman store and then defaming her by denying the assault took place. A jury ordered the former president pay Carroll $5 million in damages in May 2023.
Trump is not under obligation to attend the civil trial in New York, although he has indicated he will do so at some point, including to possibly testify in his defense.