Donald Trump won't put up defense witnesses in E. Jean Carroll rape and defamation case
An attorney for Donald Trump said Wednesday he will not call any witnesses in his defense of E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit, which includes a rape allegation, meaning the jury should get to decide the case early next week.
Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina told the court that health issues would prevent an expert witness in psychiatry from testifying; Tacopina said earlier in the trial that Trump himself would not testify.
'Early next week'
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan told jurors that “I think you can reasonably expect to get the case early next week."
The judge discussed the schedule as attorneys for Carroll prepared to wrap up their case on Thursday. The judge is expected to recess the trial on Friday, as he did last week, in order to handle other court business.
'Access Hollywood' tape
Wednesday's session featured testimony from a woman who said Trump physically assaulted her.
Natasha Stoynoff, a journalist, said Trump shoved her up against a wall and tried to kiss her during a 2005 tour of his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump has denied the allegation.
Attorneys also played the infamous audio tape of Trump talking about women by saying he could "grab 'em by the p----y." The tape surfaced during the 2016 campaign and was made just before Trump filmed a segment on the program "Access Hollywood."
The jury also saw a videotape of Trump's deposition in which he denied Carroll's claims.
Psychological testimony
The judge and attorneys discussed the schedule during a break in testimony from a psychologist who discussed Carroll's emotional scars from the incident.
Leslie Lebowitz, a clinical psychologist and trauma specialist who has interviewed Carroll for some 20 hours, said the assault "made her feel she was worthless. She felt degraded, diminished."
Trump has denied Carroll's allegations, and called them politically motivated.
No Trump witnesses
Carroll is suing Trump for defamation, claiming he lied about the attack and disparaged her character while doing so.
Legal analysts could only speculate on Trump's no-witness strategy.
"Either they've (sic) confident they've got a juror or two in their camp or they recognize they've lost & it's only about limiting damages," tweeted Joyce Alene, a University of Alabama law professor and MSNBC commentator
The Associated Press contributed to this report.