Closing arguments set in rape and defamation suit against Trump

FILE PHOTO: E. Jean Carroll, former U.S. President Donald Trump rape accuser, walks at Manhattan Federal Court following a civil case, in New York City, U.S., April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A jury in Manhattan federal court is set to hear closing arguments on Monday from lawyers representing Donald Trump and writer E. Jean Carroll in her civil lawsuit accusing the former president of raping her in the 1990s and later defaming her.

Trump's attorney Joseph Tacopina told U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan last Thursday that his client waived his right to testify in the trial and also opted not to present a defense in the case, gambling that jurors will find that Carroll had failed to make a persuasive case.