Judge Threatens to Expel Trump From Courtroom

Donald Trump locked horns with another judge in another Manhattan courtroom Wednesday. Judge Lewis Kaplan threatened to expel the former president from the federal courtroom for making "disruptive" comments while E. Jean Carroll testified, CNBC reports. "Mr. Trump, I hope I don't have to consider excluding you from the trial," Kaplan said after the jury broke for lunch, per the AP. "I understand you're probably eager for me to do that." Trump replied: "I would love it." After Kaplan told Trump, "I know you would because you just can't control yourself in this circumstance," Trump replied, "You can't either."

The judge had earlier admonished Trump after Carroll's lawyer, Shawn Crowley, complained that Trump had been making statements audible to jurors while his client testified. The warning of expulsion came after Trump continued to make loud remarks about the trial being a "witch hunt" and a "con job." On Tuesday, the opening day of the trial, Trump shook his head when Kaplan told jurors that it had already been established that Trump sexually abused Carroll and the trial's purpose was to determine damages for remarks Trump made about Carroll when he was president. Carroll testified Wednesday that she was attacked on social media and received threats after Trump accused her of lying in 2019, per NBC News.

Carroll said Trump's remarks "shattered" her reputation and "ended the world I had been living in." She said she still receives threats, sometimes hundreds a day, and Trump has continued to attack her in social media posts as recently as Tuesday. "He lied last month. He lied on Sunday. He lied yesterday," she said. "And I am here to get my reputation back." The New York Times reports that Trump was "expressive throughout the morning," showing "impatience and anger." Trump slammed the defense table and said "Man" when Kaplan rejected a request from his lawyer, Alina Habba, to adjourn the trial on Thursday so Trump could attend his mother-in-law's funeral. Trump isn't required to attend the trial, but Habba said his absence could be "prejudicial." (More E. Jean Carroll stories.)