Donald Trump’s Attorney, Alina Habba, Calls for a Mistrial in E. Jean Carroll Defamation Trial

In a dramatic turn of events, Donald Trump's lawyer has once again called for a mistrial in the ongoing defamation case against the former president in New York. The request stems from allegations that E. Jean Carroll, an advice columnist who accused Trump of sexual abuse in the 1990s, compromised her civil case by deleting emails from strangers who had threatened her with death, as AP News reported.

Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, argued that Carroll "failed to take reasonable steps to preserve relevant evidence" and, even more damningly, "actively deleted evidence which she now attempts to rely on in establishing her damages claim." This move has been viewed by some as a strategic maneuver to undermine Carroll's credibility and challenge the damages sought in the case. Habba also filed a mistrial request previously, with Trump sitting beside his lawyer as Carroll testified, but Judge Lewis A. Kaplan promptly denied it without providing any comment.

Asking for a mistrial again via written communication, Habba highlighted the significance of the deleted emails, pointing out that Carroll's legal team has focused heavily on the death threats and Trump's statements as justification for the $10 million compensation the journalist seeks.

The current defamation trial is singularly dedicated to assessing the extent of damages, revolving around two specific statements made by Trump during his presidency in June 2019. These statements were in response to Carroll's claims, first published in a magazine article featuring excerpts from her memoir, where she publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct.

Habba, Trump's attorney, is presenting a contentious argument to the jury, placing significant emphasis on the purported link between the death threats and Trump's public statements. However, Robbie Kaplan, an attorney representing Carroll (with no relation to the judge), declined to comment on the mistrial request. The trial is scheduled to recommence, granting Trump an opportunity to testify after Carroll's legal team wraps up their case presentation. 

Joe Tacopina, the attorney representing the former POTUS, recently resigned from Trump's legal team, where he had been overseeing two significant cases. Interestingly, Tacopina's departure occurred just a day before the commencement of the trial to determine potential damages that Trump would owe Carroll for defamation. In a notable turn of events, Tacopina participated in his first interview since leaving Trump's legal team on the eve of the Carroll trial.

According to Mediaite, he engaged in a conversation with Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC and highlighted that this interview would be his only discussion about his abrupt departure from Trump's defense team. Tacopina explained, “I left the team because it was just my time. I had to follow my compass, and my compass told me it was my time.” Tacopina had been leading Trump's legal team in the civil rape case filed by Carroll. In that particular case, a jury held Trump accountable for both sexual abuse and defamation, resulting in a million-dollar award for Carroll last year.