A federal judge has rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to push his $10 million defamation trial back a week to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral.
In a letter Friday to Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, Trump lawyer Alina Habba said the ex-president plans to attend his trial over allegations raised by writer E. Jean Carroll, but would first like to go to the funeral of Amalija Knavs, the mother of former First Lady Melania Trump.
Knavs died Jan. 9 at the age of 78.
Kaplan issued a ruling later Friday rejecting the request, adding the court “offers its condolences” but the “application is DENIED.”
“Mr. Trump is free to attend the trial, the funeral, or all or parts of both, as he wishes,” he wrote, while pointing out Trump’s lawyer made the request late Friday afternoon right before “the start of the [Martin Luther King Day] holiday weekend.”
Habba said Trump needs to be with his family at the funeral in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Given that this is one of life’s sad unexpected realities, President Trump would greatly appreciate this minor accommodation during this difficult time,” Habba wrote to Kaplan.
“I cannot imagine how this would prejudice Plaintiff,” she added.
Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, felt the trial should move ahead as scheduled – and all but accused Trump of using the death as a stalling tactic.
“While we are very sorry for the Trumps’ loss, we cannot agree to a complete adjournment of trial at this time,” Kaplan wrote Habba Friday.
“Ms. Carroll and our witnesses are prepared to proceed as scheduled Tuesday and any delay would be severely prejudicial, particularly as your client is near certain to assert scheduling conflicts again, and continues to defame Ms. Carroll on a near-daily basis in connection with his campaign for president.”
A Manhattan federal jury found in May found Carroll was telling the truth when she said Trump sexually abused her inside a designer store fitting room in 1996.
Kaplan has already found Trump liable for defaming the 79-year-old “Ask E. Jean” writer by falsely claiming in 2019 — with “actual malice” — that she accused him of raping her “to get publicity.”
All that’s left to decide at the upcoming trial is how much in damages Trump must pay, with Carroll asking for more than $10 million — on top of $5 million that jurors ordered the ex-president to cough up in the earlier separate case after finding that he sexually abused and defamed the columnist.
