Rape case Against Trump; Former US Prez May Not Attend Trial, Says His lawyer

An American columnist has accused former US President Donald Trump of raping her in a departmental store dressing room in the 1990s. A lawyer for Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the former president is unlikely to attend a civil trial of the case to be held next week.

Attorney Joe Tacopina said Trump’s absence can avoid logistical burdens that New York City and the court system would face if Trump were present. Tacopina did not rule out that Trump could still attend the trial, saying jurors should be told that his “presence is excused unless and until he is called by either party to testify.”

But E Jean Carroll, who publicly revealed the rape claim in a 2019 memoir, has said through her lawyers that she will attend the entire trial.

But Trump has repeatedly claimed that he never met Carroll at the store and that he didn’t know who she was.

“If Mr Trump can find a way to attend wrestling championships, political conventions, civil depositions, and campaign functions, then surely he could surmount the logistics of attending his own federal trial,” Carroll’s lawyer said.