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Trump Heading Back to NYC to ‘Confront’ Accuser, ‘Extremely Hostile’ Judge

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Former President Donald Trump said he’s planning to head back to his hometown to “confront” a sexual assault accuser in a court of law overseen by an “extremely hostile” judge.

During interaction with the media at his golf course in Ireland, Trump lashed out at E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her decades ago but then filed a civil lawsuit against him claiming he defamed her by calling her a liar.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen; he lied. He shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try to get my life back,” she said when she took the stand on Wednesday.

Mediate added: “In the days before the trial started, Trump posted insults on social media that did not amuse Judge Lewis Kaplan, to say the least. Tacopina told the court he would ‘try to address’ the public postings about the case ‘with my client.'”

“Well, I hope you’re more successful,” Kaplan said in response, according to Raw Story, adding that Trump “may or may not be tampering with a new source of potential liability. … And I think you know what I mean.”

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In Ireland, Trump told reporters he planned to “confront” Carroll, who he called a “disgrace,” and Kaplan, who he called “extremely hostile.”

“I have to leave Ireland and I have to leave Scotland where I have great properties. I have to leave early. I don’t have to, but I choose to,” he said.

“Will you attend the trial? Mr. President, I’m probably attending and I probably will and I think its a disgrace. It’s a disgrace that it’s allowed to happen against a rich guy or in my case, against a famous, rich and political person that’s leading the polls by 40 points,” he continued.

“And I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me, and I have a judge who is extremely hostile and I’m going to go back and I’m going to confront this. But this woman is a disgrace and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our country. You go to work,” he added.

Last month, Trump requested a trial postponement in the defamation and battery case filed by Carroll, citing the intense media coverage of his indictment in Manhattan last month and the need for a “cooling off” period.

He sought a one-month delay of the trial, which was set to start on April 25, but Kaplan, a senior federal judge in the Southern District of New York who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, denied the request, stating, “There is no justification for an adjournment. This case is entirely unrelated to the state prosecution.”

“Developments in at least one of these matters, as well as actions and statements by Mr. Trump in relation to any, may well give rise to intense publicity that, in some respects, Mr. Trump might claim to be prejudicial in this case,” Kaplan noted. “Mr. Trump’s suggestion that a one-month trial postponement, in this case, would ensure the absence of any such developments in the period immediately preceding jury selection is not realistic.”

Earlier in April, it was revealed that LinkedIn founder and Democratic mega-donor Reid Hoffman was secretly funding Carroll’s lawsuit against Trump.

According to court records, Hoffman, a billionaire who co-founded LinkedIn, has been secretly funding Carroll’s case, the Daily Beast reported.

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The revelations were disclosed during a heated correspondence between lawyers representing Carroll and Trump, who are currently fighting over whether to postpone the trial scheduled to begin in two weeks.

It is uncertain if Hoffman’s financial support will have any bearing on the outcome of the case, but the revelation of the previously undisclosed funding is likely to fuel Trump’s ongoing claims that wealthy Democrats are working behind the scenes to undermine him, the outlet noted further.

Hoffman is a prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur who established the professional social network. He is also recognized as a significant Democratic donor who has made it his objective to weaken Trump’s hold over the Republican Party.

According to Vox, Hoffman’s opposition to Trump’s policies has even put a strain on his friendship with fellow Silicon Valley figure Peter Thiel, who has taken on the role of funding conservative causes and candidates.

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