With a Manhattan jury soon to decide how much money, if any, Donald J. Trump must pay the writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her in 2019 when she first accused him of a decades-old rape in a department store dressing room, the question of whether Mr. Trump will testify still looms as the trial resumes Monday.
Mr. Trump said Sunday he would be in court, and the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, is likely to ask him directly whether he will take the stand.
Mr. Trump, 77, has suggested that he wanted to testify in the civil trial, which is beginning its second week, and in court filings, Mr. Trump’s and Ms. Carroll’s lawyers have been debating the parameters of what the former president should be allowed to mention.
Last week, Mr. Trump alternated appearances at the trial with trips to New Hampshire. The state holds its presidential primary Tuesday, and Mr. Trump has been seeking the Republican nomination with rallies this weekend in Concord, Manchester and Rochester.
But politics does not stop at the courtroom door. The former president has been treating his court appearances as opportunities to reach voters, and even holding a news conference to complain that he is the one who suffered damages.
“They are weaponizing law enforcement at a level like never before,” Mr. Trump said Sunday night at the Rochester rally, adding: “You know where I’m going to be. I don’t have to be there, but I want to be there, because otherwise I can’t get a fair shake. I’m going to be in court.”
Mr. Trump did not attend an earlier trial involving Ms. Carroll, 80, in which a jury last spring ordered him to pay $5 million in damages after finding him liable for sexually abusing her in the dressing room episode in the mid-1990s, and for defaming her in a post on his Truth Social website in 2022.
Here’s what to know about Monday’s proceedings:
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Judge Kaplan has ruled that if Mr. Trump takes the stand, he may not dispute Ms. Carroll’s version of events, as he often does in disparaging social media posts, campaign speeches and news conferences. Mr. Trump has long contended that Ms. Carroll is a liar who fabricated her story of the rape in order to sell a book. Ms. Carroll is asking for at least $10 million in damages.
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Ms. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan, asked the judge to ensure that if Mr. Trump testifies, he stays within the confines of the jury’s narrow issue — financial damages — and does not contest the accuracy of Ms. Carroll’s account and turn the trial “into a circus.”
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Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, said that even with the limitations placed on her client, Mr. Trump could “still offer considerable testimony in his defense.” Ms. Habba said Mr. Trump “should be allowed to testify about the circumstances surrounding his statements” and whether he was acting with “hatred or ill will.”
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Ms. Habba said Mr. Trump should be allowed to rebut evidence Ms. Carroll’s lawyers had said they wanted to introduce — the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Mr. Trump bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, as well as the testimony of Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who have said they also were sexually assaulted by Mr. Trump. On Saturday, Ms. Carroll’s lawyer, Ms. Kaplan, told the judge that she would not introduce the Access Hollywood tape or witnesses’ testimony, “to keep the issues at this trial focused.”