Former President Donald Trump was spotted heading to court to face his rape accuser with several mysterious red marks on his hand.
The ex-president waved with his right hand at cameras as he departed Trump Tower on Wednesday morning en route to Manhattan federal court. The gesture revealed that Trump had red marks on his thumb, index finger and upper palm.
Trump appeared for the second day of the defamation trial brought by columnist E Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her in a New York City department store dressing room in the 1990s.
He stared down Carroll as she took the stand on Wednesday morning, saying she was testifying with the desire to stop him ‘from telling lies about me’.
‘I’m here because Donald Trump assaulted me and when asked about it, he denied it,’ she said. ‘Now I’m known as a liar, a fraud and a whack job.’
Carrol is seeking $10million in damages. It is her second defamation lawsuit against Trump. In May, another jury awarded her $5million after finding Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.
As Trump watched, his lawyer, Alina Habba, had a heated exchange with US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Habba argued repeatedly that the trial should be postponed for the funeral of former first lady Melania’s mother, taking place on Thursday.
‘It’s denied,’ said Kaplan. ‘All right, sit down, Ms Habba.’
That prompted Trump to remark: ‘Nasty guy.’
Trump shook his head, appeared upset and whispered to his lawyer as Carroll testified.
Carrol’s lawyer, Shawn Crowley, later complained that Trump was ‘loudly saying things’ within earshot of the jury as his client was on the witness stand.
Trump could be heard saying, ‘Carroll’s statements are false’ and ‘now she seems to have gotten her memory back’, according to NBC News.
‘It’s loud enough for us to hear it,’ Crowley said while the jurors took a break. ‘I imagine it’s loud enough for the jury to hear it.’
The judge after the 15-minute break instructed Trump on the matter.
‘I’m going to ask that Mr Trump take special care to keep his voice down when conferring with counsel so that the jury does not overhear,’ Kaplan said.
Carroll testified that she took Trump’s 2019 statement from the White House that ‘she is not my type’ to mean ‘I’m too ugly to assault’.
‘It makes it hard for a girl to get up in the morning,’ she said. ‘I know I’m old. I know I’m 80. I know I’m not a pretty young woman, but it makes it tough to go on with the day.’
Carroll also detailed death threats she said she received after Trump’s statements about her, including that she should be killed by a ‘firing squad’ or ‘by execution’.
Her lawyer again accused the ex-president of speaking loudly near the jurors, causing the judge to say, ‘Trump has a right to be present here but that right can be forfeited if he is disruptive… or disregards our orders’.
‘Mr Trump, I hope I don’t have to…’ Kaplan said, before being cut off.
‘I would love it. I would love it,’ said Trump, throwing his hands up in the air.
Kaplan then said of the threat to toss him from the courtroom: ‘I understand that you are probably very eager for me to do that. I know you would like that, because you just can’t control yourself in this circumstance, apparently.’
‘You can’t either,’ replied Trump.
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