Trump May Be Ignored During Trial to Stop Him 'Correcting' Testimony—Lawyer

Donald Trump may not be asked to testify in his upcoming defamation trial in a case brought forward by a woman who is accusing him of rape so the former president cannot argue against evidence he has already given, according to one lawyer.

Trump is being sued by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll over allegations he defamed her while denying claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in New York in the mid-1990s.

The civil case is focused on comments Trump made that Carroll is "not my type" while denying the rape claims—a comment he has repeatedly made and defended. Trump has also accused Carroll of lying about the alleged assault to sell books and "make money."

The civil trial in New York is due to begin on April 25, although it is unclear whether Trump will attend in-person since he is not currently obliged to do so.

If Trump chooses not to attend the defamation trial, Carroll's lawyers could subpoena the former president to force him to attend. Trump is currently not named among Carroll's list of proposed witnesses for the trial, but is the first name on his own defense list.

If Trump is not called to answer questions for the trial, it is possible that the jury will be played sections of the deposition he gave last October as evidence instead.

Tre Lovell, a Los Angeles corporate and libel law attorney, told Newsweek that it may be beneficial for Carroll's lawyers not to call on the former president to testify as part of the defamation case.

"If they have strong testimony in the deposition, they can use that instead of giving Trump the chance of 'correcting' previous testimony or testifying in a manner that better helps him and hurts Carroll," Lovell said.

The deposition Trump gave under oath last October was partially unsealed in January. While answering questions, the former president repeatedly attacked Carroll, describing her as a "liar" and a "nut job," while also defending his "not my type" comments.

During the deposition, the former president also misinterpreted comments Carroll made during a 2019 interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper to suggest she claimed she enjoyed being sexually assaulted.

The person interviewing Trump told him that Carroll's comments about rape being "sexy" was actually discussing a "view that many other people hold," and not her own.

During his deposition, Trump also mistakenly thought that a black-and-white photo of Carroll was of his ex-wife, Marla Maples.

Last Monday, federal judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order calling for both parties involved in the case to inform the court in writing by April 20 whether they intend to be present during the trial. However, this could be more due to logistical issues around arranging Trump to attend the court in-person, with the Secret Service required to provide security for him.

Lovell suggested it may be detrimental to Trump's case if he does not show up for at least some of the trial.

"If he is absent, the jury may get the impression that he doesn't care enough about the case to show up, which sometimes can give them an adverse impression," Lovell told Newsweek. "Attorneys can often mitigate this negative impression by explaining why a party is not there, or have the party show up on the first day to meet the jury, and then be absent afterward."

Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina confirmed to Newsweek that no decision had been made yet as to whether the former president will attend the trial.