Donald Trump attended the first day of his civil defamation trial, watching as a jury was selected to determine how much, if any, damages the former president must pay to E. Jean Carroll for his 2019 defamatory statements about Carroll’s sexual assault allegations.
Trump’s courthouse attendance Tuesday — where he attended jury selection but did not speak — came one day after his resounding Iowa caucuses win, yet another illustration of how Trump’s campaign and legal fortunes are intertwined.
Trump watched as prospective jurors were asked about their political donations to him and his political opponents, whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen and how they got their news. He left court before opening statements to travel to New Hampshire for a campaign event Tuesday evening with the primary one week away.
Here are takeaways from the first day of the defamation trial:
- Carroll's attorney argues for ‘very significant’ damages sum: Carroll’s lawyer Shawn Crowley told the jury Trump’s attacks on her client when he was president “unleashed his followers” and caused her to receive threats. “Trump was president when he made those statements, and he used the world’s biggest microphone to attack Ms. Carroll to humiliate her and to destroy her reputation,” Crowley said. The lawyer argued that the damages awarded to Carroll “should be significant, very significant."
- Trump's attorney says Carroll has prospered since the allegations came out: Trump attorney Alina Habba argued that Carroll’s reputation was not harmed by Trump and that her career prospered since she came forward with the sexual assault allegations. Habba told the jury to remember, “This case is not about assault. We had that case. This case is about the defamation.” Carroll waited for the opportune time to publicly share her story to maximize coverage, Trump’s lawyer claimed.
- Jurors are familiar with Trump: Two of the prospective jurors said they agreed with Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. Three potential jurors said they donated to Trump or groups supporting him. All three said that wouldn’t affect their ability to be fair and impartial. None of those prospective jurors were ultimately selected for the trial jury. More than 10 said they’d donated to Biden and other top Democrats. Three prospective jurors said they believe Trump is being treated unfairly by the US court system. A male juror in the gallery stood to answer that question before it was his turn.
- What’s next in the trial: Carroll is slated to testify Wednesday in the trial, which is expected to last a few days. Trump’s lawyers have also indicated he plans to testify, although Trump has changed his mind on testifying before in other trials. The judge has limited the testimony in the case to damages and harm, ruling that the jury’s verdict in the first defamation trial will also carry over to this case.
