Trump may stay away from rape trial to ease NYC traffic jams, lawyer says

Former President Trump may not appear at his upcoming sexual battery trial to avoid the logistical and financial burdens of coming to the Manhattan courthouse, his lawyer said.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the case, had asked the parties to advise whether their clients planned to attend the trial, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina indicated in a letter on Wednesday that Trump “wishes to appear.” 

But Tacopina noted the complex security apparatus surrounding the former president’s recent arraignment, which took place near the location where next week’s trial will take place, and expressed concern about road closures and a need to lock down the building if Trump chooses to appear.

“Defendant Trump’s appearance in the Southern District of New York in connection with this matter would result in similar logistical and financial burdens upon New York City, its residents, and the Court itself,” Tacopina wrote.

If Trump doesn’t appear, Tacopina asked Kaplan to instruct the jury that Trump was not required to do so and “his presence is excused unless and until he is called by either party to testify.”

“In order for Defendant Trump to appear, his movement would need to be coordinated preliminarily by a Secret Service advance team hours beforehand each day that he is present, so that a tactical plan may be developed,” Tacopina wrote. “As part of that plan, according to Secret Service, courthouse floors would need to be locked down, elevators shut down, courthouse personnel confined to their offices, and members of the public restricted from the area.”

Kaplan on Thursday denied the request as “premature,” adding that Trump is both free to attend, testify or do neither. He also noted that Trump is slated to speak at a New Hampshire campaign event next week.

“If the Secret Service can protect him at that event, certainly the Secret Service, the Marshals Service, and the City of New York can see to his security in this very secure federal courthouse,” ruled Kaplan, an appointee of former President Clinton.

E. Jean Carroll, a longtime columnist for Elle magazine, came forward publicly during Trump’s presidency with accusations that he raped her in the mid-1990s. Trump denies the assault took place.

Carroll originally filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump — which remains ongoing — but a second lawsuit she filed is the one scheduled for trial next week. That suit includes an additional count of defamation and also sues Trump for the alleged sexual battery itself by leveraging a new New York law that temporarily lifts the statute of limitations on such offenses.

Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, responded to Tacopina’s letter by calling it a “frivolous motion.”

“This Court and the City it calls home are fully equipped to handle any logistical burdens that may result from Mr. Trump’s appearance at a weeklong trial,” Kaplan wrote. 

“Indeed, the Court has already made clear that it takes those matters seriously,” she continued. “If Mr. Trump decides not to appear at his own trial for sexual assault and defamation, the jury may draw whatever inferences it chooses—and Mr. Trump has no right to a judicial endorsement of his (flimsy) excuse.”

Updated: 12:53 p.m.