Trump Complains He Was Silenced in Trial After Rejecting Judge's Offer

Former President Donald Trump complained he was unable to defend himself in the trial surrounding rape allegations made by E. Jean Carroll on Tuesday, despite previously turning down an offer to testify before the jury.

A jury in New York found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll, former Elle magazine columnist, on Tuesday, who has accused the former president of raping her during the 1990s and sued him for defamation, arguing that his remarks that she lied about the allegations caused her harm. While the jury largely sided with Carroll on battery and defamation allegations, it also did not find that Trump raped her.

Hours before the jury came to that decision, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to write that he was "not allowed to speak or defend" himself in the trial Tuesday morning. In that post, he continued to maintain his innocence, describing the allegations as "false" and pledged to address the accusations after the trial concluded.

"Waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation where I, despite being a current political candidate and leading all others in both parties, am not allowed to speak or defend myself, even as hard nosed reporters scream questions about this case at me," Trump wrote.

He continued: "In the meantime, the other side has a book falsely accusing me of Rape, & is working with the press. I will therefore not speak until after the trial, but will appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, no matter the outcome!"

Despite his insistence that he was unable to defend himself, Trump rejected an offer from Judge Lewis Kaplan that would have allowed him to testify before the jury.

After both sides rested their case last Thursday, Kaplan opted to give Trump an extended deadline of 5 p.m. on Sunday to potentially give a last-minute testimony before the Manhattan jury after Trump suggested he may attend the trial during remarks to reporters while in Scotland last week.

"I will probably attend (the trial) and I think it's a disgrace that it's allowed to happen, false accusations against a rich guy, or in my case against a famous, rich and political person," the former president said.

CNN reported that Kaplan ordered the deadline as a "precautionary" measure to allow him to testify "if he has second thoughts." Trump, however, allowed the deadline to pass without filing a motion that he would agree to testify before the jury.

While Trump did not testify, he has long maintained his innocence in other remarks to the public, long saying he never engaged in sexual abuse or rape against Carroll.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.