Former president Donald Trump will not testify in the civil case accusing him of sexual assault against author E. Jean Carroll, after his attorney failed to notify the court of a shift in strategy before the Sunday deadline.
With both sides having completed their initial presentations, Judge Lewis Kaplan has given Trump until Sunday to appear in New York, despite earlier signals that he might travel to Ireland to address other legal matters. Reportage from CNN indicates the judge’s scheduling decision was tied to the ongoing procedural developments in the case.
Both parties are slated to deliver their final defenses this coming Monday, while Wednesday is expected to reveal the composition of the final jury. During the proceedings, the prosecution called a total of eleven witnesses, including Carroll, whereas Trump opted not to participate in the earlier phases of the case.
Carroll alleges that Trump assaulted her in the mid-1990s at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store in New York City, and she filed a defamation claim after Trump described her accusations in unflattering terms. Trump strongly denies the allegations and asserts that the allegations were used to promote a book and influence public perception for political reasons.
The civil suit began in 2019 following Carroll’s defamation complaint, which responded to Trump’s public characterizations of her claims. In November 2022, New York state enacted a law that allows certain survivors to pursue such cases despite previously running prescription constraints, enabling renewed scrutiny of the incident.
This case unfolds as Trump seeks a path back to the United States and continues to face other legal challenges, including a separate indictment related to alleged undisclosed payments connected to a hush-money arrangement involving a known adult film actress. The broader legal landscape surrounding Trump remains highly charged as the proceedings proceed toward closing arguments and final jury deliberations.