Former President Donald Trump has requested a one-month delay in the defamation and battery trial scheduled for April 25, arguing that recent "deluge of prejudicial media coverage" surrounding his indictment by the Manhattan district attorney's office makes it impossible to have a fair trial. The lawsuit was filed by former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room during the mid-1990s.
Trump's attorney Joseph Tacopina cited concerns about prospective jurors having the criminal allegations top of mind when making their decision. In an overnight filing with U.S District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Tacopina asked for a "cooling off" period before proceeding with the trial.
Carroll initially sued Trump for defamation back in November after he called her a liar when denying her rape claim. Since then, she has also filed another lawsuit against him under New York state law which allows adult rape victims to sue their abusers even if attacks happened decades ago.
Despite multiple attempts from Trump's legal team to stall proceedings, Judge Kaplan has consistently pushed back against these efforts and criticized them for attempting to cause delays. There has been no immediate response from Carroll's side regarding this latest request for postponement.
In addition to these civil lawsuits brought forth by Carroll, former President Donald Trump is also facing 34 criminal charges related to falsifying business records concerning hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to his White House win in 2016.
As of now, there is still no ruling on whether or not this requested delay will be granted by Judge Kaplan but considering previous responses from both sides involved as well as ongoing media scrutiny surrounding all cases involving Mr.Trump; it remains uncertain how things will unfold leading up-to April 25th deadline set-for commencement-of-trial proceedings