Donald Trump asked for a four-week delay in the start of a civil trial over his alleged rape of author Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s, citing a “deluge” of publicity from the recent unrelated criminal case brought against him by the Manhattan district attorney.
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump asked for a four-week delay in the start of a civil trial over his alleged rape of author Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s, citing a “deluge” of publicity from the recent unrelated criminal case brought against him by the Manhattan district attorney.
For the former president to get a fair trial, a “cooling off” period is necessary following the “prejudicial media coverage concerning his unprecedented indictment and arraignment,” his lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said in a letter late Tuesday to the judge overseeing the Carroll case in Manhattan federal court.
Trump pleaded not guilty last week in state court to 34 counts of falsifying documents in connection with hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, a Playboy playmate and a doorman who reportedly had information about a child allegedly fathered by Trump out of wedlock.
“Holding the trial of 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” the former president, Tacopina said in the letter.
Read More: Trump’s Protest Calls Lead to Anonymous Jury in Rape Trial
The trial in the Carroll case is scheduled to start April 25.
The former advice columnist with Elle Magazine says Trump raped her in late 1995 or early 1996 in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City.
Trump denies the rape, saying that Carroll was not his “type.” Carroll sued him for defamation and later filed claims against him under a New York law that allowed sexual assault victims to sue years after their alleged assaults.
Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after regular business hours.
The case is Carroll v. Trump, 1:22-cv-10016, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.