Former President Donald Trump‘s attorney Joe Tacopina has requested a mistrial hours before his cross-examination of E. Jean Carroll is set to resume.
Carroll is suing Trump, accusing him of defamation after he denied sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Tacopina filed a letter early Monday, arguing the judge made “unfair and prejudicial rulings” against him. Instead of declaring a mistrial, Tacopina informed Judge Lewis Kaplan he could alternatively “correct the record for each and every instance in which the Court has mischaracterized the facts of the case to the jury” or give him more leeway when cross-examining Carroll.
NEW in CARROLL TRIAL: Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina has moved for a mistrial on multiple grounds, as summarized on the front page of this letter. pic.twitter.com/S85poutu1sMay 1, 2023
As The Hill reports:
Carroll, 79, has accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City in the 1990s. Carroll, a longtime columnist for Elle magazine, is suing for battery and defamation, claiming that Trump defamed her when he denied the allegations.
In the 18-page letter, Tacopina lays out a number of alleged reasons for a mistrial, including arguments that the court, led by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, has “mischaracterized evidence” in Carroll’s favor and sustained improper objections from the plaintiff’s team.
Trial opened with jury selection in the case last week.
“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen,” Carroll began her testimony, according to The Associated Press. “He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back.”
Legal experts doubt that Tacopina’s request will result in a mistrial, but reports suggest that Trump’s team is preparing a counterargument in the event that the jury holds the former president responsible.