Trump testifies in defamation trial

NEW YORK, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday testified briefly in E. Jean Carroll defamation trial at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, local media reported.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, testified for less than five minutes and was cut off by Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Trump said Carroll's accusations were false though he was not allowed to testify that he didn't assault Caroll.

The jury in the current trial has been shown threats of murder and rape that Carroll has received since 2019 when she went public with her story through emails, texts and tweets, reported CBS News on Thursday.

Carroll, an American writer and former magazine columnist, accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s at a department store dressing room in Manhattan, New York City, and of later defaming her by denying her claims.

The trial is tasked to determine if Trump owns any more for defaming Caroll as another trial found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation with 5 million U.S. dollars in damages awarded to Caroll in May 2023.

The trial will continue on Friday for closing arguments and Trump is expected to return to the court then, according to media reports.