A lawyer for former President Donald Trump has requested a four-week delay in the civil rape and defamation lawsuit against Trump, arguing that he should be allowed a "cooling off" period following his recent historic indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.
Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday night to postpone the trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, scheduled to start April 25, until the end of May.
Tacopina, in a letter to Kaplan, cited a surge of media coverage of Trump’s indictment and arraignment in the case involving hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign. He argued that such attention could taint the jury pool and that Trump has the right to a fair trial.
“Holding the trial in this case a mere three weeks after these historic events will guarantee that many, if not most, prospective jurors will have the criminal allegations top of mind when judging President Trump against Ms. Carroll’s allegations,” Tacopina wrote, adding that the coverage was “remarkable for its volume and incitement of animus towards” Trump.
In a letter to Kaplan on Wednesday, Carroll's lawyer opposed Trump's request for a four-week delay.
"Waiting an additional four weeks will do nothing to 'cool' the unavoidable press and security concerns that will attend this trial," Carroll's lawyer wrote. "And in all events, Trump is exceptionally ill-suited to complain about fairness when he has instigated (and sought to benefit from) so much of the very coverage about which he now complains."
Carroll’s lawsuit alleges that Trump raped her at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s, which Trump has repeatedly denied.
Carroll first made the claim in a 2019 book. Trump has said the incident could never have happened because she was “not my type.” His remarks prompted Carroll to file a defamation lawsuit, which claims that Trump tarnished Carroll’s reputation when he denied her accusation.
Tacopina drew parallels between allegations by Carroll and adult film star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had an affair with Trump and was paid to keep quiet. He argued that jurors selected to hear Carroll's allegations will have the media coverage of Trump's alleged extramarital affair with Daniels "still ringing in their ears" if the trial is not delayed.
“To avoid this egregious violation of President Trump’s constitutional rights the trial should be adjourned for a brief period to allow the media frenzy to recede," Tacopina wrote. “Widely covered criminal charges against a civil litigant should raise urgent concerns over potential contamination of prospective jurors."
He also said that Trump is a “persistent subject of media coverage” and that coverage of his recent indictment and arraignment has led to a “more than four-fold increase in coverage” of the civil rape and defamation lawsuit.
Tacopina asked to delay the trial hours after the judge issued an order asking parties, including Trump himself, to notify him by April 20 whether they will attend the trial, which is scheduled to start later in the month in Manhattan federal court.
Kaplan ruled last month that key witnesses will be allowed to testify and that misogynistic remarks Trump had made about women in the mid-2000s, which at the time he appeared not to know were being recorded, will be allowed to be presented to the jury.
Kaplan has also ruled that jury will be anonymous, citing Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about the justice system.
