Donald Trump's Attacks on Judge Could Land Him in Jail: Attorney

Donald Trump's attacks on the judge in his ongoing defamation case with the journalist and author E. Jean Carroll could land him in jail, according to a former lawyer.

The former president has lashed out at District Judge Lewis Kaplan numerous times during the proceedings brought against him by Carroll, both online and in the courtroom. Judge Kaplan threatened to remove him from the courtroom this week. Newsweek contacted Donald Trump's team for comment on Saturday via email.

Carroll, 80, has alleged that Trump raped her in the mid-1990s in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, New York. She is pursuing a minimum of $10 million in damages for harm to her reputation. This arises from two statements made by Trump in June 2019 during his presidency in which he refuted the allegations and said that Carroll fabricated the story to promote her memoir.

"Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive and if he disregards court orders," Kaplan said. "Mr. Trump, I hope I don't have to consider excluding you from the trial, I understand you are very eager for me to do that."

"I would love it, I would love it," Trump replied. Later, as he left the courtroom, Trump branded Kaplan a nasty judge and a Trump-hating guy.

One former lawyer has said the Republican's continued disruption could land him in jail. Speaking to Mary Trump, the former president's niece who has long been critical of her uncle, Joe Gallina said that Trump's call for a mistrial could see him receive harsher penalties outside of the damages Carroll is seeking.

"I think Donald is using his appearance at court to speak to his base. He's playing the victim, which works well with them, while attempting to malign the judge, intimidate E. Jean Carroll, and undermine the accusations by claiming it's all a political 'witch hunt.' Sure he'll score some political points, but he's really damaging his case," Gallina said.

Gallina added: "That puts Donald in an impossible position. The more he attempts to appease his base, the more he'll turn off the jury."

Gallina said that the jury could award Carroll significantly higher damages than the $5 million awarded in May 2023 in a trial that found Trump had sexually abused her.

"There are also a host of punishments available to Judge Kaplan to apply to Donald if he continues to act out," Gallina added. "It stands to reason we'll hear a description of what those might be of. Donald could face fines and even be thrown in jail for contempt if he ignores repeated warnings."

Contempt of court is an act of disrespect or disobedience toward a court or interference with its processes by being disruptive, such as failing to follow a judge's orders, as well as being threatening or disrespectful.

Trump's lawyers also demanded a mistrial this week. Trump's lawyer Alina Habba wrote to District Judge Lewis Kaplan to say that Carroll's admission that she deleted emailed death threats amounts to severe prejudice of "President Trump's defense since he has been deprived of critical information relating to critical evidence which Plaintiff has described to the jury."

Habba added that the deletions violated a federal rule that outlines emails must be preserved for litigation. The trial is in session in New York.