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

After walking out of the courtroom during the plaintiff’s closing argument, Donald Trump returned to the courtroom for the defense's closing statements.

After walking out of the courtroom, former President Trump remained absent for the remainder of the plaintiff's closing statement, during which E. Jean Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan asked the jury to punish Trump for the "humiliation and mental anguish" he inflicted on Carroll.

"The evidence was as shocking as it was unmistakable," the attorney said. "Imagine for a second what it would feel like to go to sleep in one world and wake up in another world, one in which the president of the United States ... is attacking you.

Death threats followed death threats, which the lawyer said is what Trump wanted. "Donald Trump had said that Ms. Carroll should pay dearly and that Ms. Carroll had entered into dangerous territory," she told the jury.

She said the jury's compensatory damages award should include the cost to repair Carroll's reputation, which an expert testified could cost as much as $12 million.

"While Ms. Carroll built that career over five decades, Donald Trump shattered it in a matter of hours," she said. "People are not dying to write to an advice columnist who the president says is a disgrace."

The attorney also asked the jury to award punitive damages, arguing the defamation has not ceased, even after an earlier trial last May held him liable for sexual assault and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.

She declined to name a dollar figure for the award, but said it should be at least as much as the $12 million repair campaign plus additional compensatory and punitive damages.

She urged the jury to consider one question: "How much will it take to make him stop?"

"You actually have the opportunity, maybe even a responsibility, to put an end to this by requiring Donald Trump to pay an amount of money large enough for him that it will finally make him stop," she said.

Prior to Donald Trump's dramatic and unexpected exit, E. Jean Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan had been telling the jury, in her closing statement, that Trump responded to Carroll's 2019 sexual assault claim "by trying to ruin her," thereby triggering "a tsunami of attacks" against her.

Trump shook his head, silently disagreeing, as the attorney reminded the jury that a prior trial found Trump sexually assaulted Carroll and, when she later accused him, unleashed "vicious attacks against her."

"This case is about how to compensate Ms. Carroll for the harm Donald Trump's original statements in June 2019 caused her," she said. "This case is also about punishing Donald Trump for what he has done and for what he continues to do. It's about punishing him for the malicious nature of his original attacks in 2019, and considering his continued attacks. This trial is about getting him to stop once and for all."

The attorney took aim at the defense's argument that Trump's statements made Carroll more famous, enlarged her following, and enabled new career opportunities.

"Being known as a liar and whack job is different than being known as a respected advice columnist," she said.

Former President Trump walked out of the courtroom as Carroll's attorney was delivering her closing statement.

Judge Lewis Kaplan interrupted.

"The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom," the judge said.