WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is appearing in court on Friday, then holding a press conference afterward, as his lawyers argue that a $5 million verdict finding him liable of sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996 should be overturned.
It's part of the sharply different approaches Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are taking before their Tuesday debate: The former president is staying in the public eye while Harris prepares in private with her advisers in Pittsburgh. That's a reflection of their divergent campaign styles, with Trump frequently engaging with reporters — albeit often in friendly settings — while Harris has done just one interview and no press conferences since taking President Joe Biden's place atop the Democratic ticket.
Trump plans to speak to reporters at his namesake tower in midtown New York after hearing appeal arguments in the Carroll case. He walked in quietly and passed in front of Carroll without acknowledging or looking at her.
The former president reacted at times during the proceedings, such as shaking his head when Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said that Trump sexually assaulted her client. He would tilt his head from side to side periodically, but otherwise sat still and mostly alone.
A Manhattan jury in May found Trump responsible for sexual abuse. Carroll says Trump attacked her in a department store dressing room, but the former president's legal team says the verdict should be overturned because some evidence that was allowed during the trial should have been excluded while other evidence that should be excluded was allowed. He denies guilt.
In the midst of running for president and facing a series of other legal cases against him, Trump did not attend the Carroll trial and wasn't there when the charges were read — though he assailed the verdict as “a disgrace” on his social media site.
Later Friday, he's traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, to address the Fraternal Order of Police.
Carroll was one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. She went public in a 2019 memoir. Trump denied it, saying he never encountered Carroll at the store and did not know her. He has called her a “nut job” who invented her story to sell a memoir.
Trump faces unprecedented criminal and civil jeopardy for a major-party nominee.
He has separately been convicted on 34 felony counts in a New York state case related to hush money payments allegedly made to a porn actor. The judge in that case is expected to decide Friday whether to postpone Trump's sentencing.
Trump has also been ordered to pay steep civil fines for lying about his wealth for years.
And he's still contending with cases alleging his mishandling of classified documents, his actions after the 2020 election and his activities during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — though none are likely to go to trial prior to Election Day.
