Trump stands up and walks out during Roberta Kaplan's closing. “The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose & walked out of the courtroom,” #JudgeKaplan says. This is an unusual breach of decorum, & Roberta Kaplan continues as though nothing unusual happened.
#EJeanCarroll atty Roberta Kaplan is going into what damages Carroll should be awarded. Caroll wrote books, articles & columns, skits for Saturday Night Live. #Trump took her reputation as a columnist & journalist & “shattered it in less than 24 hours,” Kaplan says. The gigs she once had are gone. The hundreds of letters she once got asking for advice have trickled to a handful. Now she is asked only to write about Trump, Kaplan says.
Roberta Kaplan, #EJeanCarroll’s lawyer, talks about the analysis that their expert, Ashlee Humphreys, a professor of integrated marketing at Northwestern University, conducted on the effects of #Trump’s statements, which reached more than 80 million people. Based on that analysis, “it is definitely not a reach to conclude that for Ms. Carroll it would cost at least $12 million” to repair her reputation, Kaplan says.
As atty Kaplan describes the terror that her client, #EJeanCarroll, felt while reading “hateful & threatening” messages from #Trump supporters. Trump’s lawyers are sitting at the defense table, their client’s chair still apparently pushed back from when he walked out.
Alina Habba, warned by the #JudgeKaplan, is sitting w/her arms folded as she listens to her opponent’s closing.
Roberta Kaplan asks the jury to imagine enduring a world of endless threats, knowing there were more waiting for you every time you opened up your phone or laptop.
Kaplan is now attacking #Trump’s lawyers as having been dismissive of the messages #EJeanCarroll received as a “few mean tweets.” She says that’s a vast understatement, and calls on the jury to make things right, to compensate Carroll for her fear & anguish.
Roberta Kaplan is now fighting off some of Trump’s lawyers' claims, including that HE had to defend himself after #EJeanCarroll initially published the essay accusing him of assault. “Give me a break,” Kaplan says, noting that the White House had already denied the claims by the time #Trump spoke up.
The courtroom has stilled, the energy of Trump leaving seemingly having dissipated. Here in the courthouse, we’re still not sure where exactly he is.
per Jonah Bromwich
Still addressing #Trump’s attys’ claims, Robbie Kaplan says #EJeanCarroll has no duty under the #law to mitigate the damage done to her reputation. The defense argued that Carroll herself brought on the blowback she received.
Kaplan is calling an oft-repeated defense line — that Carroll actually benefited from the attacks — “Donald Trump’s most insulting argument.”
“The idea that she should be grateful to him, that she’s better off, is indefensible,” Kaplan says.
Roberta Kaplan tells the jury that #Trump should pay her $12M to cover the cost of repairing her #reputation, $12M for the #EmotionalDistress#EJeanCarroll experienced plus #PunitiveDamages. “It will take an unusually high punitive” amount to stop Trump, she says.
Kaplan says she won’t ask for a specific number in punitive damages, but says that they should have an effect on Trump -- & she notes that he is a billionaire. “Billions of dollars to Donald Trump is just a drop in the bucket.”
More on #Trump storming out during Roberta Kaplan’s closing argument from NYT:
“When Trump got up to leave, it was sudden & came w/o warning. He walked slowly out of the room, followed by one of his lawyers. He said nothing as he walked toward the door, & reporters & onlookers in the courtroom craned their necks to stare at him.
“A sketch artist quickly began drawing him exiting the courtroom.
“A number of reporters rushed to catch him outside. But he didn’t seem to emerge, & the reporters eventually returned to the building.
“…Before Trump walked out, before the closing arguments even began, he looked frustrated w/ the judge, shaking his head repeatedly. When Ms. Kaplan began describing last May’s verdict that found Mr. Trump had sexually abused Ms. Carroll, he grew more frustrated — scoffing, muttering & shaking his head.”
#AlinaHabba, Trump’s lawyer, begins her closing, her voice loud & heavy, her tone flat & saracastic. She carefully articulates the term “Twitter trolls,” as she tries to deflect blame for #EJeanCarroll’s suffering from her client.
Habba calls her client the victim: “There is no one that can truly express the frustration of the last few years better than my client, the fmr president of the United States.”
Habba is reciting the facts, but w/heavy sarcasm targeting #EJeanCarroll. Of her initial story, Habba says, “She was looking to make a splash….” Meanwhile Habba says, #Trump was “busy running the country.”
Habba is arguing that Carroll has to prove a direct causal connection between Trump’s statements & the harm Carroll suffered. This has come up again & again in Trump #legal arguments — whether or not his statements have real-world impact. “No causation!” Habba thunders.
“You are not here to pay Ms. Carroll for people who wrote mean tweets to her,” Habba says. They have to prove a direct link between the two statements he made in 2019 & the harm she suffered, Habba tells the jury.
“President#Trump has no more control over the thoughts and feelings of social media users than he does the weather,” Habba says.
#Trump’s lawyers have consistently played down the seriousness of #threats of harm made to his political opponents, & Habba now says that she receives similar threats. #JudgeKaplan warned her against it, saying it was inappropriate.
From 2019 to 2022, there were other threatening messages, but we can’t see them because Carroll deleted them, Habba says. “Or, alternatively, perhaps they never existed in the first place.”
Per Michael Gold, #Trump’s account sent about 16 posts in 15 minutes on social media just now. They mostly attack #JudgeKaplan & #EJeanCarroll herself, w/the familiar insults.
(he’s freaking crazy! I Hope Roberta Kaplan tells the Judge & jury. This is exactly why he needs serious #PunitiveDamages.)
Meanwhile Alina Habba, Trump's lawyer, said it is clear that Carroll suffered no #EmotionalDistress & also suffered no professional #harm.
Habba is reading old sex-related tweets from #EJeanCarroll. She then apologizes to the jury, professing to be embarrassed to have to read them to the #jury. That prompts laughs in the press room. Habba continues to read the tweets, yelling the word “penis” repeatedly in the federal courtroom.
As Habba continues to attack, …Carroll is sitting in a white top, her head bowed very slightly. If she’s reacting at all, it’s hard to see it on the cctv in the press room.
Habba tells the jury to imagine #Trump, a family man 🤣😂🤣🤣😂 w/ a wife & children w/ “a very serious job to do.”
“You work long days and long nights, and all of a sudden you’re hit with an allegation,” she said. “There are no facts — ” #EJeanCarroll’s lawyer objects & #JudgeKaplan sustains it. “I’d like to finish my thought,” Habba says. “Move on to a subject different than what you’re embarking upon,” the judge replies.
#JudgeKaplan just lost his temper w/ #Habba as she tried to object, reminding the #Trump team that only one lawyer can object during an argument. “One lawyer,” he scolds them, & Habba sits down.
Judge Kaplan interrupts Crowley as she begins to launch into a key point — that Trump assaulted #EJeanCarroll — to scold the Trump lawyers for walking around during the proceedings. Trump is at the defense table talking to Habba as Crowley says he does “whatever he wants.”
Crowley says one of the defense's errors is their account of the 5 hrs between the time #EJeanCarroll’s story appeared on NYmag's website on June 21, 2019, & the statement #Trump released later that day. The defense tried to argue there was a flood of negative comments & tweets calling Carroll a liar. There were far fewer, Crowley says. “You can’t trust” their argument, Crowley says.
“He’s still breaking the #law literally to this day,” Crowley says of #Trump, arguing that he continues to #defame#EJeanCarroll. Madaio, one of Trump's lawyers, objects, #JudgeKaplan overrules him.
Crowley says that Carroll “gave interviews… because she had to defend herself when he came after her.” Trump's constant attacks against Carroll were not a simple denial or disagreement, Crowley says. “That is not just some innocent version of trying to defend yourself.”
“There is no denying that more people know Ms. Carroll now than they did before 2019,” Crowley says. Support, including from celebrities, has felt good, Crowley says. But the idea that it cancels out the vitriol of the last 4yrs is “nonsense.”
Crowley dismisses the idea that #EJeanCarroll preferred her life after #Trump’s attacks.
Carroll’s brand before 2019 was that of a respected columnist, re Trump’s brand, Crowley tells the jury: “What could be more on brand for Donald Trump than malice?”
Habba said that Trump’s response to #EJeanCarroll was his “truth.” Now Crowley responds. “Ladies & gentlemen his truth was a lie,” she says. “And he had no right to say it. That may be how Donald Trump lives his life telling a truth that is a lie, but that's not how it works under the #law.”
#Trump's lawyer Madaio tried to object in the midst of that, but was overruled.
Crowley addresses Habba’s argument that #Trump didn’t cause the #threats toward #EJeanCarroll, noting all the #evidence that he personally drove those threats. “Causation?” she says. “There couldn’t be clearer proof of causation.”
Carroll's case is about “defamation by the man who sexually assaulted her,” Crowley says. “And yet Ms. Habba faults Ms. Carroll for not having suffered all the time. I’ve got to say this is a bizarre argument.”
Crowley is arguing that while of course #EJeanCarroll has had moments of joy & happiness, that does not mean that her life has been wonderful since #Trump’s attacks.
Carroll’s often sunny disposition, Crowley says, “hides an undeniable harm.”
“You can be sad & also feel proud when people stand by you,” Crowley says. “You can still feel safe when you’re walking around Midtown Manhattan & still feel terrified when you open up your computer & see #DeathThreats.”
Madaio, Trump’s lawyer, objects when Crowley accuses #Trump of defaming her. #JudgeKaplan asks why. “Defamatory,” Madaio says, objecting to the use of the word even though A JURY IN MAY FOUND SHE HAD BEEN DEFAMED. Judge Kaplan overrules him.
Crowley says #EJeanCarroll did nothing wrong when she deleted messages from people telling her that she should be raped or killed. “Who wouldn’t do that?”
Crowley is wrapping up. She emphasizes how much #EJeanCarroll “will continue to suffer if he is not stopped.”
Crowley links #Trump’s behavior in the courtroom to his behavior toward Carroll. “He gets to lie. He gets to threaten. He gets to ignore a jury verdict. He gets to defy the #law & the rules of this courtroom. You saw how he has behaved through this #trial. You heard him. You saw him stand up & walk out of this courtroom while Ms. Kaplan was speaking. Rules don’t apply to Donald Trump.”
That’s it for the closing arguments themselves. Now we wait for the jury charge & #deliberations.
#JudgeKaplan tells the jury that they do not have to decide whether #EJeanCarroll was #SexuallyAssaulted or whether she was #defamed, that’s been decided as a matter of #law. “For your purposes, you must accept these points are true no matter what else you heard in this trial,” he said.
#JudgeKaplan tells the jury that they must decide if #EJeanCarroll suffered #damages because of #Trump's statements against her & how much she should be compensated.
“A person who has been defamed is entitled to fair & just compensation” The jury is to decide what award is “fair & just compensation” for the harm to Carroll’s rep & the emotional distress she endured. “Fair compensation may vary. It may range from $1” if they decide there was no damage “to a substantial” amt, Judge Kaplan says.
#JudgeKaplan tells the #jury they cannot consider any “reputational benefits” #EJeanCarroll supposedly received from #Trump’s attention. The defense had tried to argue that Carroll’s life & professional standing had somehow improved.
#JudgeKaplan is still instructing the jurors. The jury must also decide if #Trump acted “maliciously” when he made his two statements in 2019 about #EJeanCarroll, he says. At the time, Trump said he did not know who Carroll was & that she was lying to sell a book. The jury will award #PunitiveDamages if they decide Trump #ActedMaliciously when he made one or both of those statements, Judge Kaplan explains.
In the #EJeanCarroll v #Trump case, the #VerdictForm provided to the #jurors asks them to consider & break down #damages into specific categories. Here's an overview of how the form addresses these damages, particularly focusing on the first question:
Q 1: Reputational & Compensatory Damages for Trump's #Defamation
The #jury determined that #EJeanCarroll suffered more than nominal damages from Trump's 2019 statements and awards her $18.3 million in compensatory damages.
The jury determines that #Trump acted maliciously for one of the two statements at issue.
The jury determines that Trump #ActedMaliciously on the other statement.
$83.3 million is a major number. There may be more to come: Trump’s other civil trial, the outcome has yet to be determined. #Trump could be on the hook for hundreds of millions more.
“I will not comment on the #verdict you have reached,” #JudgeKaplan says, but he praises the #jurors for their attention & focus, saying that they have given “all we can ask.”
@bouriquet this will be going on a long while. Appeals blah blah blah. Still significant. If for no other reason than that Trump has posted since the verdict was read out & he didn’t even mention #EJeanCarroll.
Woman deserves peace, to if nothing else, to no longer be hurt by that despicable thing called #Trump.
#JudgeKaplan tells the #jurors that they are free of his order to maintain their anonymity. But, he said, “my advice to you is that you never disclose you were on this jury.” (#JuryIntimidation)
#EJeanCarroll’s lawyers wiped away tears as they hugged her & each other. They beamed as they left the courtroom.
@Nonilex Habba will find reason to wish she'd never taken this client on. Her display of talents has been nil and her apparent inability to use discretion has been to the fore. Who hires a lawyer like that? Only one person, and he won't pay her.
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