Washington
CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump will not testify in the defamation and civil assault trial of E. Jean Carroll after his lawyer failed to inform the court of any change of strategy before a judge-imposed deadline of Sunday at 5 p.m. afternoon
As attorneys for Carroll and Trump rested their respective cases at trial in Manhattan federal court Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan had left a window for Trump to testify, though the attorney for the former president said it would be highly unlikely.
The judge said he had ordered the injunction in light of Trump’s public comments suggesting he would appear in court before the trial ends.
Carroll, a former columnist for the magazine, alleges that Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when she denied the claim, said he was not her type and suggested that he made up the story to increase sales of his book. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
Closing arguments in the case will begin on Monday. The jury will likely hear the case on Tuesday.
This story has been updated with additional information.
