Trump misses final deadline to testify in E. Jean Carroll defamation trial

Emily Jacobs

May 07, 11:22 PM May 07, 11:22 PM

Former President Donald Trump has declined the opportunity to testify at his civil trial for a defamation suit brought by author E. Jean Carroll.

Carroll's case centers around her 2019 claim that Trump raped her in a New York City department store dressing room in 1996 and the former president's subsequent denial — calling the allegations a "hoax," which she argues is defamatory. Trump's attorneys had told U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan that their client did not intend to testify, but Kaplan offered the former president a three day window to reconsider after he said in Ireland last week that he was heading back to the United States to "probably attend" the trial.

DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE WILL PROBABLY ATTEND E. JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION TRIAL

“I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me, and I have a judge who is extremely hostile,” Trump told reporters from the golf course at his namesake Ireland property earlier this month. “And I’m going to go back, and I’m going to confront this. This woman is a disgrace, and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our country.”

“If he has second thoughts, I’ll at least consider it,” Kaplan said while ordering the three day extension.

Trump's legal team had until 5 p.m. EST on Sunday to inform the court of a decision. As expected, nothing was filed.

The trial now moves to the closing arguments phase, which will begin on Monday. The columnist is seeking unspecified damages, meaning Trump could be on the hook for millions in damages if the court rules in Carroll's favor.

Carroll testified that she and Trump met by chance at Bergdorf Goodman in the spring of 1996, while he was still married to his second wife Marla Maples. She said that the encounter began as fun and flirtatious as he convinced her to help him shop for a gift for another woman.

Carroll testified that the two ended up in the store's lingerie section, where they teased each other to try on a risque bodysuit, before moving to a dressing room. She alleges that Trump then violently slammed her up against a wall and raped her until she kneed him and fled the store.

Trump adamantly denied the allegations in a filmed deposition, saying, "It didn't take place. She is a sick person, in my opinion. Really sick. There is something wrong with her."

“It’s the most ridiculous, disgusting story,” he said at a later point. “It was just made up.”

WATCH: Joy Behar blasts Trump, says 'he manipulated everybody' with claims of arrest

Julia Johnson

March 22, 01:34 PM March 22, 01:34 PM

The View bashed former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, claiming he lied about a potential indictment and arrest for allegedly paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

"He manipulated everybody. We all rose to the occasion — the papers — everybody just went there," Joy Behar said.

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Over the weekend, the former president claimed on Truth Social that he would be arrested on Tuesday and asked his supporters to protest. However, Tuesday passed and Trump was not indicted, nor was he arrested.

"He hasn’t been arrested like he predicted," Sunny Hostin acknowledged.

The hosts then agreed that they should not take Trump at his word.

"You kind of have to weigh it with all the other stuff he's said," Whoopi Goldberg explained. "And you figure, well, you know, you said you won the election. You didn't win. You said they are coming to arrest you. They didn't arrest you."

"Why would we start believing him now?" Sara Haines asked.

"So many people excited," Hostin lamented.

Behar slammed the former president, claiming, "He is a liar."

"Are you shocked?" Goldberg asked of her co-host.

On Wednesday, the Manhattan grand jury's meeting was called off. District Attorney Alvin Bragg did, however, tell the members that they should be on standby for Thursday.

Leon Black accused of raping woman at Epstein's mansion in new lawsuit

Asher Notheis

November 28, 11:23 PM November 28, 11:23 PM

Former financier and Jeffrey Epstein associate Leon Black has been accused of raping a woman at Epstein's mansion back in 2002, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The woman, Cheri Pierson, claims that Black had physically overwhelmed her without her consent and caused "excruciating pain" when the two were together on the third floor of Epstein's home, according to court documents. The lawsuit from Pierson was flied in a New York state court in Manhattan and seeks unspecified damages from Black for sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress and unspecified damages from Epstein's estate for negligence, according to Reuters.

“Black had the opportunity and the means to rape Ms. Pierson that day because their meeting was pre-arranged by his close friend and confidant, Epstein,” the lawsuit reads.

EPSTEIN ACCUSERS SUE BANKS THEY ALLEGE 'BENEFITED' FROM SEX TRAFFICKING CRIMES

In 2002, Pierson was in desperate need of cash as a single mother, and had already given Epstein five massages, getting $300 for each massage, according to court documents. Epstein then arranged for her to massage Black for $300, according to the documents.

Susan Estrich, a lawyer for Black, claims that the lawsuit is "categorically false and part of a scheme to extort money from Mr. Black by threatening to destroy his reputation. ... We intend to defeat these baseless claims."

Black had previously been accused of rape in a lawsuit filed in 2021, when Russian model Guzel Ganieva claimed Black had raped her and paid her to keep quiet about it. Black has denied Ganieva's allegations, calling their relationship a “consensual affair."

Pierson sued under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which went into effect on Thursday and gives sexual assault victims a one-year window to sue their alleged abusers. E. Jean Carroll, who has accused former President Donald Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s, filed a new lawsuit under the law on Thursday. Trump denied the claims.