It's increasingly likely that the Malignant Loser will duck an appearance at the E. Jean Carroll rape and defamation case next week, if we can believe his thuggish lawyers. While claiming that the Malignant Loser wants to come to Manhattan to testify, his goombah lawyer Joseph Tacopina is telling the court that it would be too much of a logistical problem for the city:
"For Mr. Trump to appear at the federal courthouse, Mr. Tacopina told Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, his movements would need to be coordinated each day that he was present by a Secret Service advance team hours beforehand. The team would then develop a tactical plan. [snip]
Should Mr. Trump not appear in court, Mr. Tacopina said, he would ask that Judge Kaplan instruct the jury that while no litigant was required to appear at a civil trial, Mr. Trump’s absence, 'by design, avoids the logistical burdens that his presence, as the former president, would cause the courthouse and New York City.'”
They're desperate for their lying client to stay off the witness stand, so they've manufactured an excuse for him not to be there, while asking the judge to instruct the jury to accept that excuse. Earlier today, the judge denied that request. In civil trials, the jury may infer guilt if the defendant refuses to testify. An experienced trial lawyer writes at DailyKos:
"...without Trump testifying, his attorneys can try to discredit Ms. Carroll and her witnesses. But, that is all.
In rebuttal, Ms. Carroll’s attorneys are entirely free argue to the jury that Trump’s absence is an admission of guilt. (The 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination only applies in criminal cases.) They can say 'If he didn’t do it, why isn’t he here testifying before you? The reason he is not here is that if you heard him testify, you would know he is lying.'” (our emphasis)
Either way, the Malignant Loser is on his way to a bad outcome in this case.
