Trump blasts judge for not delaying trial for Melania’s mom’s funeral | US News
Trump’s lawyers claimed that his defamation trial brought by columnist E Jean Carroll conflicts with the funeral of his wife Melania’s mother, Amalija Knavs.
‘Accordingly, President Trump, who plans to attend his trial, will not be able to be present on Wednesday and Thursday as he will be traveling to be with his family and be attending the funeral,’ wrote his attorney Alina Habba last week.
‘Given that this is one of life’s sad unexpected realities, President Trump would greatly appreciate this minor accommodation during this difficult time.’
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan declined Trump’s request, stating that the trial start date was scheduled seven months prior and postponing it would could pose logistical issues.
‘Accordingly, the Court denied the request but noted that defendant is free to attend the funeral, the trial or both,’ wrote Kaplan.
The trial is set to start on Tuesday, and Trump plans to attend. The ex-president faces up to $10million in defamation damages owed to Carroll after a jury found he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Trump on Saturday blasted the judge.
‘Lewis Kaplan, the terrible, biased, irrationally angry Clinton-appointed Judge in the Bergdorf’s Hoax, refused to postpone the sham trial next week, even in light of the funeral of my beloved Mother-in-law,’ he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
‘This Judge has been ruthlessly unfair from the first day of Crooked Joe Biden’s Election Interfering Witch Hunt.’
Trump also attacked Kaplan during a rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday.
‘My wife’s mother, who was incredible and a great beauty inside and out – incredible woman – she just died,’ he told his supporters.
‘And my wife was pretty devastated by that. I have a trial going on, a totally fake trial. And we asked the judge if I could take a day off for a funeral for my mother-in-law, who was very close to me also.’
‘And he said, “No.” These are animals. Can you imagine that.’
Knavs’ funeral is set to take place on Thursday in Florida. Melania announced her mother’s death and paid tribute to her in an X (formerly Twitter) post last Tuesday.
Regardless of the defamation trial, Trump appears to have planned to hold a campaign rally on Wednesday night in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, according to his website.
It is not the first time that Trump has asked for a legal proceeding to be delayed due to Knavs’ death – nor the first time he has been denied.
Trump requested that New York Judge Arthur Engoron postpone closing arguments in his $370million civil fraud trial last Thursday, citing his mother-on-law’s passing. Engoron denied the request. Trump went on to speak at a town hall about 24 hours after Knavs’ death and ripped his opponents in a raucous press conference on Thursday at the same time as the closing arguments.
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