Judge denies Trump bid to delay E. Jean Carroll rape trial in NYC

A Manhattan federal judge on Monday denied former President Donald Trump’s bid to delay his civil trial on allegations he sexually assaulted and defamed advice columnist E. Jean Carroll — with jury selection set to begin next week.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan shot down Trump’s argument that a month-long “cooling off” period was necessary because of intense media scrutiny following his criminal indictment in New York state court.

“There is no justification for an adjournment. This case is entirely unrelated to the state prosecution,” Kaplan wrote in an order denying the request.

“The suggestion that the recent media coverage of the New York indictment — coverage significantly (though certainly not entirely) invited or provoked by Mr. Trump’s own actions — would preclude selection of a fair and impartial jury on April 25 is pure speculation,” he added. 

Trump, 76, sought twice last week to push off the trial, arguing in a separate letter that information related to who is paying for Carroll’s legal defense was not properly disclosed. 

With his order Monday, Kaplan has rejected both bids to push back the trial’s April 25 start date. 

In her suit, Carroll claims Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then made defamatory statements about her allegations. 

Trump has denied wrongdoing.