Writer E. Jean Carroll's second defamation trial against former President Donald Trump was adjourned Monday in Manhattan for a sick juror, per CNN. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan offered to continue with eight of the nine jurors present, which Carroll's team said would be fine, but Trump attorney Alina Habba asked for an adjournment.
The absent juror reportedly tested positive for COVID. Habba, who was not wearing a mask while sitting next to Trump, told the judge that she had a fever and had dinner with her parents before they tested positive for COVID but said her test came back negative.
Trump has claimed that he planned to testify on Monday. "So tomorrow is the New Hampshire primary and he needs to be in New Hampshire," Habba told the judge. "He was planning to testify — clearly, he flew in last night to be here. I would just need his testimony to be Wednesday in light of the news about the juror today."
A lawyer for Carroll objected to the delay, telling Kaplan that "we'd like to get this trial over."
“I just think we should finish tomorrow," the attorney said, according to Politico.
"I'm not going to decide right now," Kaplan told Habba.
But Kaplan did shoot down yet another motion for a mistrial from Trump's team after they claimed Carroll destroyed evidence by deleting some of the threats she received after publicly accusing Trump of sexual assault. Kaplan said he would issue a written order shortly.
