Donald Trump has filed for a mistrial in the civil case in which writer E. Jean Carroll accuses him of rape and defamation, asserting that the presiding judge made a series of biased and prejudicial rulings against him.
In an 18-page letter submitted to the Manhattan federal court on Monday, Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina accused U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of demonstrating bias against the former president, including in front of the jury.
Tacopina stated that Kaplan's rulings "manifest a deeper leaning towards one party over another," and even included comments where the judge "openly expresses favoritism."
Tacopina requested that if a mistrial is not granted, Kaplan should rectify the record and grant him greater leeway in cross-examining Carroll.
Carroll's legal team has not yet commented on the matter.
Mistrial requests are often considered long shots, especially when based on the judge's own statements. Such requests frequently serve as the foundation for future appeals.
Carroll, 79, alleges that Trump, 76, raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996 and subsequently damaged her credibility and career by lying about the incident online.
Carroll's defamation claim pertains to an October 2022 post on Trump's Truth Social platform, where he referred to her case as a "complete con job" and "a Hoax and a lie." Trump has consistently denied that the rape occurred.
Tacopina argued that Kaplan should have permitted him to question Carroll about her failure to obtain security camera footage of the alleged rape and her decision not to report the incident to the police.
He also took issue with Kaplan's management of a Twitter post by Trump's son Eric, which was made outside the presence of jurors and discussed how LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman was financially supporting Carroll's case.
Tacopina claimed that Eric Trump's tweet constituted protected speech and objected to Kaplan's remark that the tweet could place Donald Trump "sailing in harm's way" and potentially implicate "some relevant United States statutes."
Carroll is expected to face a second day of cross-examination by Tacopina when the trial resumes later on Monday.
