A federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump's attempt to introduce a new expert witness just two months prior to a trial regarding the defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
The judge stated that Trump "made his own bed" by waiting too long. The case, known as Carroll v. Trump, is in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-07311.
Trump argued that he would face "extreme prejudice" without a new damages expert for the
scheduled trial on January 16, 2024. He claimed he had not anticipated the need for one
until after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the case, excluded testimony
from another expert on October 5.
However, Kaplan pointed out that both parties were required to propose expert witnesses a
year ago, and Trump had been aware since March that his expert's testimony was likely
to be excluded.
While Trump stated that he is "not asking to extend or delay the start of the trial,"
Kaplan expressed concern that Trump might seek delays, given his past behavior in similar cases, if his application were granted. Kaplan emphasized that Trump had known for months that his chosen expert was unreliable and would not testify, yet he took no action.
"He has made his own bed and now must lie in it," Kaplan added.
Trump's legal team is defending him in the trial against civil fraud claims by New York
Attorney General Letitia James related to the Trump Organization. A spokesperson for
Trump's lawyers had no immediate comment.
E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, is seeking at least $10 million over Trump's comments in June 2019, where he denied knowing her and accused her of fabricating the claim to promote her memoir. In a separate lawsuit in May, a jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million for sexual assault and defamation. Trump is currently appealing this decision, having denied her claims again in October 2022.
https://ag.ny.gov/about/meet-letitia-james
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