Trump lawyer seeks monthlong ‘cooling off’ delay in rape claim trial
PBS NewsHourNov 30, 2022
The Facts
On Tuesday, former US Pres. Donald Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, requested a one-month delay in the civil trial regarding columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claims Trump raped her in 1996. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 25.
In a letter, Tacopina asked for a "cooling off" period because of "the recent deluge of prejudicial media coverage" surrounding Trump since he was indicted last month on 34 felony counts related to a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
This is just Trump's latest bad-faith attempt to delay this trial, begging the question of whether the former president has something to hide. Regardless, he made a series of defamatory comments about Carroll — which is the basis of her suit — and eventually, he’s going to have to face the music.
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump has the right to an impartial trial, but the current politically charged media frenzy makes the jury ripe for prejudice — an environment Democrats are seemingly willing to exploit in order to further their persecution of Trump. Tacopina's request is completely legitimate and should be seriously considered.
