In anticipation of the defamation trial involving E. Jean Carroll, who has accused former President Donald Trump of sexual abuse and defamation, former prosecutor Nick Ackerman emphasized the precautionary measures taken by Judge Lewis Kaplan. Ackerman suggested that U.S. Marshals would be “lined up” to intervene if Trump were to “step out of line” during the trial.
The trial, scheduled for Thursday, revolves around determining the amount of damages Trump must pay Carroll, who is seeking $10 million for the defamation she experienced while Trump was in office. Despite a prior court ruling that Trump had defamed and sexually abused Carroll, the current trial focuses on the financial repercussions for the former president. Trump has expressed his intention to testify in the case.
On a CNN News Central segment hosted by John Berman, a panel including Ackerman, ex-prosecutor Shan Wu, and CNN senior legal correspondent Paula Reid discussed their perspectives on Trump’s potential testimony. Reid and Wu both speculated that Trump would use the opportunity to present himself as a “loud martyr,” exploiting the platform to cast himself as a victim of an alleged unfair system.
Reid explained that Trump’s aim is not necessarily rooted in legal strategy but rather in political maneuvering. She highlighted the likelihood of Trump attempting to frame himself as a victim, playing into the narrative that he has been unjustly treated. Despite potential concerns about the damages he might face, Reid suggested that Trump’s primary goal is to use the trial to further his political agenda and potentially regain the White House.
Wu added that Trump might make a proffer to the judge, presenting a summary of his intended testimony. However, he cautioned that such a proffer might be disregarded by Trump, who could deviate from the agreed-upon parameters. Wu outlined various ways Judge Kaplan could control the proceedings, including interrupting Trump, instructing the lawyers, imposing sanctions, or even preventing him from testifying altogether.
Ackerman expressed a strong stance on the matter, suggesting that Judge Kaplan had already taken steps to have U.S. Marshals ready to intervene should Trump deviate from expected behavior. He warned that any deviation, even a minor one, could result in Trump being forcibly removed from the courtroom by the marshals.
In summary, the panelists on CNN News Central deliberated on the potential impact of Trump’s testimony in the defamation trial, with a consensus that Trump might exploit the opportunity to present himself as a victim, and the judge has measures in place to maintain order during the proceedings.
OHN BERMAN: Batting cleanup. Paula Reid.
PAULA REID: I completely agree. The reason I think you’ll take the stand is not because it makes any legal sense whatsoever. It’s because it’s an opportunity to spar with the judge.
And one thing we saw when voters were coming out of the primary in New Hampshire is that people are buying this argument that he is a martyr, the victim of an unfair system.
Because they’re not paying attention to whether he actually followed the rules that the federal judge set out for the parameters of his damages testimony. They want to know that, oh, he was stopped! He was deprived of the opportunity to tell his side of the story, which, of course, he didn’t show up for the trial in the spring when they were actually talking about sexual abuse. It’s all about being a loud martyr for him politically, even if legally. That makes no sense. I don’t think he’s worried about the damages. He’s trying to regain the white House, and he truly believes that this is an opportunity to once again frame himself as a victim. So I think he will take it, but I think it will be brief. I don’t think the judge is going to allow it to go on for too long.
JOHN BERMAN: So. So to that point, the suggestion from Team Paul and Team Shan here is that Donald Trump will take the stand, not worried that this whole testimony will blow up, but hoping that it will blow up. How does that play out with Judge Kaplan?
SHAN WU: I think, he may be forced to make a proffer to the judge that the judge is satisfied this is going to at least have some relevance, to what they’re trying to determine. The proffer is really not worth, you know, the paper it’s written on because he’ll just blow through whatever the proffer was and do what he wants.
If the judge really constrains him, he has a number of ways to constrain him. He can interrupt him. He can tell the lawyers to try to control them. He could offer to even sanction him if he continues that. Or you could just stop him from testifying. So there’s ways for the judge to control Trump. And I think that the way it plays out is Trump just wants as much time as he can in the limelight there to be doing his thing, to be railing against the judge.
JOHN BERMAN: Nick.
NICK ACKERMAN: I think the judge has already got the marshals lined up. If this guy steps one iota out of line, he’s going to be taken out by the marshals.
JOHN BERMAN: And then who wins? Paula Reid.
PAULA REID: Former President Donald Trump.
