E. Jean Carroll defamation case: Judge denies Trump's motion for mistrial

After four days of testimony, attorneys for E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump are scheduled to deliver their closing arguments this morning.

Once closings conclude and Judge Lewis Kaplan instructs the jury on the law, nine jurors will begin deliberating how much money, if any, Trump should pay in damages for making two defamatory statements about Carroll in 2019.

In filings to the court, Carroll's lawyers have indicated they're seeking at least $10 million in damages, but their statements to the jury have reflected a potentially higher number based on Trump's repeated defamatory statements during the two-week jury trial.

Carroll's lawyers argued that Trump made 22 defamatory statements last Tuesday, when opening arguments were delivered in the case, and that overall he's made more than 100 defamatory statements, both in and out of court, during the two-week trial.

"Think about that when you consider how much money it will take to get him to stop," Carroll's lawyer Shawn Crowley told the jury earlier.

"Not America," Donald Trump muttered as he exited the courtroom following his testimony.

"It's not America. This is not America," he repeated, his voice rising as he slowly walked toward the courtroom exit.

Court was adjourned, with closing arguments scheduled for Friday.

"Do you stand by your testimony in your deposition?" Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, asked Trump on the witness stand.

"100% yes," Trump responded.

"Did you deny the allegation to defend yourself?" Habba asked. "Yes I did, that's exactly right," Trump responded.

"Mr. President, did you ever instruct anyone to hurt Ms. Carroll?"

"No, I just wanted to defend myself, my family and frankly the presidency," Trump answered.

The judge struck everything after the word "no."

On cross-examination Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan asked whether this is the first trial with Carroll that Trump has attended. He said yes.

On redirect, Trump affirmed he was represented by counsel.

Trump then stepped down from the stand, his testimony over after all of three minutes.

Prior to Trump taking the witness stand, Judge Lewis Kaplan reminded the parties, outside the jury's presence, that a prior trial found "Mr. Trump in fact sexually abused Ms. Carroll by forcibly and without consent inserting his fingers into her vagina" and that "Ms. Carroll did not make up her claim of forcible sexual abuse."

Kaplan said the prior trial also established Trump's statements of denial were defamatory and that Trump "knew they were false, had serious doubts as to the truth of what he said or made those statements with a high degree of awareness that they were probably false."

The judge reminded the defense that Trump cannot make any argument "disputing or undermining those determinations." He said "there is cause for concern" that Trump's testimony might contain inadmissible evidence.

"I want to know everything he is going to say," Kaplan told defense attorney Alina Habba.

"That he stands by his deposition," Habba responded. "He is going to say that he did not make the statements to hurt Ms. Carroll."

Habba said Trump will also say that he had to respond to the allegation and did not instruct anyone to disparage Carroll.

Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, complained that while Habba was giving her proffer, "Mr. Trump said under his breath that he never met her and had never seen her before."

Kaplan said the jury would be instructed that, regardless of what Trump says on the witness stand, "he did it."

Trump was overheard saying he was not at the first trial and that he does not "know this woman" as Habba tried to affirm Trump understood the confines of his testimony.

"So he will comply with the rulings?" Kaplan asked. "That is my understanding," Habba replied.

The judge has limited the examination to three questions: Does he stand by the deposition? Did he deny the allegation because an accusation had been made? And did he instruct anyone to hurt Carroll?