Former President Donald Trump briefly took the stand in the E. Gene Carroll civil defamation case, where a jury had previously found him liable for sexually abusing the former magazine columnist. The trial is now focused on determining the amount of damages Trump will have to pay Carroll. During his brief testimony, Trump was limited in what he could say, as the judge wanted him to stick to a predetermined script agreed upon by his lawyer. Trump affirmed that he stood by his previous depositions and admitted to denying Carroll's accusation because he considered it false. However, most of what Trump said after that point was stricken from the record by the judge, as the trial was not about determining the truth of the accusation but rather the damages to be awarded.
During cross-examination, Carroll's lawyers asked Trump if this was the first trial he had attended for this case. Trump confirmed that he had not attended the previous trial, during which the issue of the alleged sexual abuse had been litigated along with matters of defamation and damages. This raised questions about Trump's decision to attend the current trial, particularly in the midst of the 2024 campaign season.
