By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump wants to attend next week’s trial involving the writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of rape, but may not because of security issues his appearance would cause, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court, Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said that while Trump “wishes to appear at trial,” the judge should instruct jurors not to hold it against the former president if he stays away.
The lawyer said a Trump appearance would prompt a repeat of the disruption caused on April 4, when Trump pleaded not guilty in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case over hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Tacopina asked that jurors be told that Trump’s absence “avoids the logistical burdens that his presence, as the former president, would cause the courthouse and New York City. Accordingly, his presence is excused unless and until he is called by either party to testify.”
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, declined to comment. She is not related to the judge. Tacopina also represents Trump in Bragg’s case. Trump is also the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential campaign.
On the day of Trump’s plea, the southbound FDR Drive was closed for Trump’s motorcade to the criminal court. Several blocks around the court were also closed.
Tacopina said if Trump attended Carroll’s trial, the Secret Service would again be needed to coordinate his movement, parts of the courthouse and surrounding area would be closed, and even some courthouse personnel would be confined to their offices.
Carroll, 79, has accused Trump of defamation by denying on his Truth Social platform that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. She is also suing for battery.
The trial may last five to seven days. Carroll plans to attend every day. Trump has until Thursday to advise whether he plans to attend at all.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
