Judge Refuses to Postpone Trial for Trump’s Defamation Lawsuit, Deeming Ex-President’s Appeal Frivolous

A federal judge in New York has expressed his growing impatience with what he perceives as ex-President Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to delay a defamation lawsuit against him. The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, has declared that he will not halt the scheduled January trial to await the outcome of what he considers a “frivolous” appeal from one of his previous rulings.

In a written statement, Judge Kaplan criticized the arguments put forth by Trump’s legal team, who had requested a suspension of the 2019 civil claims case. The lawsuit was filed by a New York columnist who alleges that Trump sexually assaulted her in a luxury Manhattan department store dressing room back in 1996.

Kaplan’s ruling heightens the probability that the defamation lawsuit will proceed on January 15, coinciding with the start of the primary season as Trump vies for the Republican presidential nominee position for the upcoming year. This date also aligns with the Iowa Republican caucuses.

Meanwhile, Trump is facing four separate criminal indictments. Two of these cases revolve around allegations of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. In addition, he faces charges related to classified documents in Florida and his alleged involvement in arranging hush money for the pornographic actress Stormy Daniels to silence her before the 2016 election. Trump has consistently denied all these accusations.

In May, a jury awarded $5 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused Trump of abuse and defamation, although the jury found her claim of rape to be unsubstantiated. Carroll’s legal team is now seeking an additional $10 million in compensatory damages and substantial punitive damages for statements Trump made during his presidency and after the jury’s verdict.

The defamation aspect of the awarded damages stems from Trump’s statements made in October, where he denied knowing Carroll and refuted the alleged sexual attack and his presence in the store with her.

The upcoming January trial is anticipated to focus exclusively on the damages phase, building upon the jury’s verdict from May regarding sexual abuse. Claims of defamation based on Trump’s statements in 2019 after Carroll publicly revealed her rape allegations in a memoir, as well as remarks following the May verdict, will be addressed during this trial.

Kaplan has dismissed Trump’s claims of immunity due to his presidential status during his 2019 comments. Trump’s legal team had urged Kaplan to postpone the January trial, arguing that there was a substantial chance of success on appeal. However, Kaplan deemed these arguments “lacking in substance” and stated that Trump had demonstrated “no prospects of success on appeal.”

Consequently, Judge Kaplan concluded that “this Court confirms the frivolous nature of Mr. Trump’s appeal.”

As of now, lawyers representing Trump have not responded to requests for comments via email.

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