Journalist and author E Jean Carroll took the stand in the civil trial on Wednesday in which the former Donald Trump has been accused of battery and defamation. Carroll is suing Trump for rape.

Before Carroll got a chance to testify, the judge presiding over the case, Lewis A Kaplan called out Trump, who has been physically absent from the trial himself so far, for an “entirely inappropriate” statement on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump reportedly has called the case “a made-up scam” and Carroll’s lawyer “a political operative.” “This is a fraudulent and false story – Witch Hunt!” Trump wrote.

He also alluded to a DNA discovered in the case that Kaplan has ruled cannot be part of the case.

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Trump has previously defamed Carroll by publicly calling her case a “hoax”, “scam”, “lie” and “complete con job.” Kaplan warned Trump’s lawyers that such statements about the case issued by the former president in the future could bring more legal problems for him.

The judge told Trump’s lawyers: “What seems to be the case is that your client is basically endeavoring, certainly, to speak to his quote-unquote public, but, more troubling, the jury in this case about stuff that has no business being spoken about.” He added that Trump’s post was “a public statement that, on the face of it, seems entirely inappropriate”.

Joe Tacopina, Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina said he would request his client “to refrain from any further posts about this case”. He also stressed the rule that jurors are not to follow any news or online commentary about the case. “I hope you’re more successful,” Kaplan said. He also added that Trump “may or may not be tampering with a new source of potential liability”.

Also Read | Donald Trump rape accuser E Jean Carroll files new lawsuit as Adult Survivor’s Act takes effect

How old is E Jean Carroll?

E Jean Carroll was born on December 12, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan. She is 79 years old. She also went by “Jeannie.” She attended Indiana University and she quickly became a member of Pi Beta Phi and a cheerleader. She was crowned Miss Indiana University in 1963. In 1964, she won the Miss Cheerleader USA title as a representative of the university.

She went on to become a journalist and an author. She is also an advice columnist for the “Ask E. Jean” column which appeared in Elle magazine from 1993 to 2019.

In 2019 she published her book, What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal, where Carroll accused Les Moonves and Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s.