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A juror's illness with Covid forced a last-minute postponement Monday of a defamation trial against former President Donald Trump over his comments about writer E. Jean Carroll, who sued him alleging that he had raped in the 1990s.
It is not yet clear when the trial will resume. The court is awaiting the results of the COVID tests for all jurors; One of Mr. Trump's lawyers has also tested negative, and his team wants to delay the Republican presidential front-runner's testimony until after Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
There was no word on whether Mr Trump himself was feeling well or not as he did not wear a mask in court when he attended a brief hearing on Monday. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan announced that one of the nine jurors was told to go home and get tested for the coronavirus after reporting a fever.
Former President Trump's lawyer Alina Habba also announced that one of her parents has COVID-19 and that she had been running a fever for the past two days after having dinner with them a few days ago. Ms Habba then said that she did not see a problem with having "a short delay of one day" so that everyone can be tested. Neither lawyer wore a mask in court.
She asked if Mr. Trump's testimony could be delayed until Wednesday because of the GOP election in New Hampshire, while Ms. Carroll's lawyer asked for the trial to resume on Tuesday if possible.
Whenever the trial is held, Mr. Trump's testimony will allow him, within limits, to explain to the jury why he not only denied Ms. Carroll's claims, but called her a liar who fabricated a sexual assault by him to sell her book.
Another trial ended last year with the ruling that Mr. Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll. For this reason, Judge Kaplan has ruled that if the former president testifies, he will not be allowed to say that she fabricated her accusation or that she was motivated by a desire for financial or political gain.
Last week, the former President took part in the hearing when Ms Carroll testified and during her testimony spoke loudly to his lawyers complaining about a "witch hunt". For this reason, the judge threatened to remove Mr. Trump from the courtroom if he continued to speak loudly. Former President Trump kept his voice down and stayed in court, then held a press conference where he made harsh accusations against the judge.
In Ms. Carroll's case, her lawyers have asked the judge to compel Mr. Trump to swear, before any testimony, that he understands and accepts the court's restrictions on what he can say.
Mr. Trump is facing four criminal charges in addition to the New York fraud case and Ms. Carroll's lawsuit, while races within the Republican Party have already begun.
He has gone from courtroom to election rally, using both to argue that he is being persecuted by Democrats who are terrified, he says, of his possible re-election as President.
Mr Trump travels to New Hampshire after Monday's court hearing to attend a campaign rally after the Republican presidential primary is held there on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump does not need to participate or testify in the civil case. He stayed out of the previous trial last year, where another jury ruled that Ms Carroll should receive $5 million in damages after concluding that the former President sexually abused her in 1996 and made defamatory comments about her in 2022. Mr. Trump has appealed that decision.
For complex legal reasons, Ms. Carroll's defamation claims were split between two lawsuits. That is why the second trial is being held, where she is seeking over 10 million dollars in damages
Mr. Trump's lawyer, Habba, told the court in a letter that he decided to testify because, despite the judge's restrictions on what he can say, "he can still provide substantial evidence in his defense."/ VOA
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