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By: Ellen Cans
A judge shot down former President Donald Trump’s attempt to push back a $10 million defamation trial to be able to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral.
As reported by the NY Post, on Friday Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, penned a letter to Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan asking to push back the court date a week, for his trial over defamation allegations raised by writer E. Jean Carroll. The letter said Mr. Trump would like to attend the funeral of Amalija Knavs, the mother of former First Lady Melania Trump. His wife’s mother passed away on Jan. 9 at the age of 78. She had been living in Mar-a-Lago for the past few years, and had reportedly been sick for some time. Habba said Trump needs to be with his family at the funeral in Florida on Wednesday and Thursday. “Given that this is one of life’s sad unexpected realities, President Trump would greatly appreciate this minor accommodation during this difficult time,” the letter said. “I cannot imagine how this would prejudice Plaintiff,” Habba adda in the letter to the judge.
Mr. Trump had honored his mother-in-law with a post on his social media platform Truth Social, on Tuesday night. “This is a very sad night for the entire Trump family!!!” the former President wrote. “Melania’s great and beautiful mother, Amalija, has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky. She was an incredible woman, and will be missed far beyond words!” Melania Trump had posted on social media too. “It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother, Amalija,” Mrs. Trump wrote on X Tuesday. “Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity. She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law. We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy.”
Judge Kaplan sent over the response to the request later that same Friday, ruling that the request was rejected, adding the court “offers its condolences” but the “application is DENIED.” “Mr. Trump is free to attend the trial, the funeral, or all or parts of both, as he wishes,” he wrote, but pointed to the fact that Trump’s lawyer made the request late Friday afternoon right before “the start of the [Martin Luther King Day] holiday weekend.”
Mrs. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, said the trial should take place as scheduled. “While we are very sorry for the Trumps’ loss, we cannot agree to a complete adjournment of trial at this time,” Kaplan wrote Habba Friday. “Ms. Carroll and our witnesses are prepared to proceed as scheduled Tuesday and any delay would be severely prejudicial, particularly as your client is near certain to assert scheduling conflicts again, and continues to defame Ms. Carroll on a near-daily basis in connection with his campaign for president.”
Per the Post, in May, a Manhattan federal jury already ruled in favor of the 79-year-old “Ask E. Jean” columnist, who alleged that Trump sexually abused her inside a designer store fitting room in 1996, with jurors deciding Trump should pay $5 million. In this case, Kaplan already found Trump liable for defaming Carrol by falsely claiming in 2019 — with “actual malice”, that she accused him of raping her “to get publicity.” All that remains is for the judge to decide how much more money in damages Trump will need to pay for this defamation case, with Carroll asking for more than $10 million.
