U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan threatened to throw out Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, during Trump’s second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial.
Reporters in the courtroom stated that Judge Kaplan told Habba, “You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Now, sit down.”
Judge Kaplan’s comments came after Habba attempted to introduce ” X posts” into evidence.
Watch the moment Fox News broke the story:
JUST IN: Donald Trump just got up and walked out of the courtroom as E. Jean Carroll’s attorney started making her closing argument.
The rogue judge also threatened to throw Trump lawyer Alina Habba in jail.
The walkout happened as Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan was trying to… pic.twitter.com/zPEUSEPw0O
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 26, 2024
Per Newsweek:
Donald Trump’s lawyer in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation case, Alina Habba, was reportedly scolded by U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan on Friday.
Reporters in the courtroom on Friday said that Kaplan told Habba: “You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Now, sit down.” The term “lockup” in the context purportedly refers to her being sent to jail.
Politico’s Erica Orden wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Kaplan’s warning followed an attempt by Habba and Michael Madaio, another Trump attorney, to include a slide showing X posts that they hadn’t already entered as evidence.
The exchange occurred before the start of opening statements, according to The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld.
The current civil trial in New York follows the sexual battery and defamation lawsuit that Carroll previously won against Trump in May 2023, when a different jury ruled Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll at a department store in the 1990s and then defaming her character while denying the assault took place. Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.
🚨 BREAKING: Judge Threatens to LOCK UP Trump Lawyer Alina Habba
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 26, 2024
Here’s what Forbes reported:
A federal judge on Friday threatened Donald Trump’s attorney with jail time shortly before closing arguments began in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial for attempting to use tweets not previously entered into evidence.
The comment came just before the start of closing arguments in the former president’s trial.
New York-based federal Judge Lewis Kaplan told Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney, she was ‘on the verge’ of jail time for repeatedly contesting a rule on evidence, according to multiple sources attending the trial.
CNN reported that Trump left the courtroom while E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan was delivering her closing argument, in which she said Trump did not respect the prior jury’s verdict.
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