Columnist’s lawyer warns judge that Trump hopes to ‘sow chaos’ as jury considers defamation damages

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Donald Trump for sex abuse and defamation urged a judge Friday to take strong measures to ensure the former president doesn’t “sow chaos” when a new jury considers next week if he owes even more in damages.

Trump said Thursday that he will attend the Manhattan federal court trial, where a jury will consider a request beginning Tuesday by lawyers for columnist E. Jean Carroll that she be awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages for statements Trump has made.

“If Mr. Trump appears at this trial, whether as a witness or otherwise, his recent statements and behavior strongly suggest that he will seek to sow chaos. Indeed, he may well perceive a benefit in seeking to poison these proceedings,” attorney Roberta Kaplan wrote in a letter to the judge.

“There are any number of reasons why Mr. Trump might perceive a personal or political benefit from intentionally turning this trial into a circus,” Kaplan said.

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