'Sow chaos': E. Jean Carroll lawyers ask judge to not let Trump 'poison' trial proceedings

Former President Donald Trump is due in a New York courtroom next week to attend the defamation trial as part of a lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll. The plaintiff's lawyers are now asking the judge overseeing proceedings to set ground rules to prevent the ex-president from turning the trial into a political sideshow.

According to The Messenger, Carroll's lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan submitted a four-page filing asking US District Judge Lewis Kaplan (no relation) to impose "consequences" on Trump if he engages in "antics" that could distract the jury and "poison" proceedings. Kaplan even suggested that Trump be required to say under oath "that he understands that it is established that for purposes of the trial that he sexually assaulted Ms. Carroll, and that he spoke falsely with actual malice and lied when accusing her of fabricating her account and impugning her motives." Because Trump has already been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and has exhausted his appeals, the actual details of the case are not in dispute.

"If Mr. Trump appears at this trial, whether as a witness or otherwise, his recent statements and behavior strongly suggest that he will seek to sow chaos," the filing reads." Indeed, he may well perceive a benefit in seeking to poison these proceedings, where the only question for the jury is how much he will have to pay in damages for defaming Ms. Carroll."

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"This Court should made[sic] clear from the outset that Mr. Trump is forbidden from engaging in such antics and will suffer consequences if he does so," the filing continued. "In fact, it is not clear, at least to us, what Mr. Trump could permissibly testify to given these limitations. There is no basis for Trump to offer lay opinion testimony about the harm that Ms. Carroll has experienced."

Roberta Kaplan cited the former president's "soliloquy" outside of his New York civil fraud trial last week as a reason to establish ground rules ahead of the trial. During a break in closing arguments, Trump went on an impromptu rant about New York Attorney General Letitia James, baselessly accusing her of being the reason for oil titan Exxon's decision to move its headquarters from New York to Texas in 1989, when James was a public defender less than two years out of law school. And ahead of next week's trial, Trump said he planned to attend in person and was "going to explain I don’t know who the hell she is."

"Should Mr. Trump nevertheless go on to give inappropriate testimony or otherwise engage in improper conduct, the Court would have various tools at its disposal to enforce its evidentiary rulings and related orders," Carroll's attorney wrote. "Among other things, it may find Mr. Trump or his counsel in contempt... it may issue punitive finds and monetary sanctions... it may refer counsel for discipline... and it may preclude Mr. Trump from giving further testimony. At a minimum, any future violation by Mr. Trump of a specific evidentiary ruling would justify an emphatic jury instruction that addresses the proper testimony and safeguards against prejudice."

The defamation trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 16 — the day after the Iowa Republican Caucuses.

READ MORE: Watch: Trump blames Letitia James for Exxon leaving New York for Texas — in 1989