Donald Trump's Absence Exploited by Prosecutors in Closing Arguments—Lawyer

Donald Trump's absence—at a civil trial over E. Jean Carroll's claims that the former president raped her in a department store—was "exploited" by Carroll's lawyers, according to a legal expert.

A nine-person jury is set to begin deliberations on Tuesday after closing arguments in the case were delivered on Monday.

Carroll, 79, is suing Trump, 76, in New York for battery and defamation, alleging he raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996 and defamed her by denying it happened. Trump has denied raping Carroll and accused her of making up the story.

Trump, who is making a third bid for the White House, told reporters last week that he would "probably" attend the trial, but did not show up.

Carroll's lawyers took advantage of his absence to make their case, Lisa Rubin, an MSNBC legal analyst, said on Monday.

"Some of you have asked if Trump's not showing up had consequences," Rubin tweeted.

"Obviously, we won't know that until a verdict arrives—but did Carroll's lawyers exploit his absence in their closing and rebuttal? You best believe it." Newsweek has contacted Rubin for further comment via social media.

She noted that Mike Ferrara, a lawyer for Carroll, told jurors that they should use Trump's absence from the trial to conclude that he committed the attack.

Trump's lawyers never called him to testify because "it would hurt their case if they did," Ferrara said.

"You should draw the conclusion that's because he did it."

He said it was not a "he said, she said" case as "there wasn't even a 'he said,' because Donald Trump never looked you in the eye and denied it."

Roberta Kaplan, another attorney for Carroll, told the jury that Trump was absent because he "knows what he did," the Associated Press reported.

Citing excerpts from Trump's October deposition and his comments on a 2005 Access Hollywood video, Kaplan said much of what Trump has said "actually supports our side of the case."

"He didn't even bother to show up here in person," Kaplan said. "In a very real sense, Donald Trump is a witness against himself. He knows what he did. He knows that he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll."

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told the jury in closing arguments that there was no reason to call Trump as a witness as Carroll cannot recall when the encounter happened.

He said Carroll's story is too far-fetched to be believed, and that she made it up to fuel sales of a 2019 memoir where she first publicly revealed her claims as well as to disparage Trump.

In an appearance on NewsNation, Diana Florence, a former prosecutor, said jurors are supposed to set aside their politics and base their verdict on the evidence.

"I think that this jury, I do have faith in the jury system, they're going to look at the evidence and they are going to hold them to their burden," she said. "Unfortunately for Mr. Trump, I think that they've met it."

Newsweek has contacted Trump's office for comment via email.