Trump defamation trial delayed because of sick juror, not linked to NH primary | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
3
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a primary election night party in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.
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The claim: Delay of Trump defamation trial is proof of New Hampshire election interference

A Jan. 22 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims the defamation trial against former President Donald Trump was delayed to interfere with the New Hampshire Republican primary.

"ELECTION INTERFERENCE ALERT," the post reads. "The judge in Trump’s E. Jean Carroll defamation trial just delayed todays (sic) trial until tomorrow – the day of the NH primary."

The Instagram post, which is a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter, garnered more than 5,000 likes in two days. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Facebook and X.

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Our rating: False

The trial was delayed on Jan. 22 because of a sick juror and didn't resume until Jan. 24, the day after the primary. There's no evidence the Jan. 22 delay was linked to the election.

Trial delay unrelated to New Hampshire primary

Trump's defamation trial is centered around the former president denying that he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll. A jury ruled in a separate civil case in May that Trump had sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s.

Contrary to some online users' claims, the delay isn't proof of interference in the Jan. 23 primary.

The trial was temporarily postponed because of a sick juror who asked to be tested for COVID-19, not because of the election.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said the test's result would determine whether or not the trial would proceed the next day. One of Trump's lawyers, Alina Habba, said she had been exposed to COVID-19 around the same time and also wasn't feeling well, but she said she and another Trump lawyer, Michael Madaio, tested negative for the virus.

The trial ended up being pushed to Jan. 24, the day after the New Hampshire primary, according to a court filing for the case. Though Habba requested that Trump be able to testify that day to avoid a schedule clash with the primary, it's unclear if this was the reason behind the additional day delay.

Fact check: Trump spreads false claim that Democrats can vote in Republican NH primary

There haven't been any credible reports of election interference in the New Hampshire primary.

Trump won the Republican presidential primary handily, defeating former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by 11 percentage points according to results as of Jan. 25.

USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The Associated Press also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump trial delay not proof of election interference | Fact check