Trump returns to court in E Jean Carroll defamation trial: Live updates

Merrick Garland agrees with call for ‘speedy’ Trump trial

Donald Trump is due back in court in New York on Monday for the resumption of his E Jean Carroll defamation trial– and he could reportedly be called to the stand to testify, just hours before voting commences in the New Hampshire primary in which he is battling Nikki Haley for the Republican presidential nomination.

Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Ms Carroll, has meanwhile said that Mr Trump’s notorious Access Hollywood tape from 2005 will not be put before the jury considering how much additionalcompensation the defendant must pay after being found liable last year for sexual assaulting her client.

The jury will weigh whether Mr Trump owes further damages to the retired magazine columnist after a previous trial ended with her being awarded $5m when it was ruled he had abused her in a department store dressing room in 1996.

The infamous tape in question shows the former president joking about grabbing women “by the p****”.

Ms Carroll’s attorney told the presiding judge the footage should not be shown to keep the “focus” on the case in hand and that she would not call fellow accusers Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds as witnesses for the same reason.

For Indy Voices, here’s Eric Garcia with his verdict on where it all went wrong for the Florida governor.

Florida governor’s refusal to take on Trump or his ignoring the non-Maga flank of the GOP means he ends his White House run in a no-man’s land, writes Eric Garcia

Here’s John Bowden to explain what last night’s inevitable drop-put means for the remaining two candidates in the race to be the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee.

In New Hampshire, Nikki Haley seeks to prove that 2024 primary won’t be a