Trump lawyer says defense just learned that E Jean Carroll judge was once 'mentor' to Carroll's lawyer. 'This issue is particularly concerning since Plaintiff’s other lead counsel, Shawn Crowley, served as Your Honor’s law clerk, and we were previously advised that Your Honor… pic.twitter.com/H1Urfb69QL

— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 30, 2024

More from the letter:

“While not every mere friendship between a judge and a lawyer warrants disclosure and
possible recusal by a judge, as the Fifth Circuit recently explained, recusal and disqualification
issues based on possible bias or prejudice require “a highly fact-intensive inquiry.” …

“Here, without knowing more information (or having a specific factual denial by Your
Honor that you had a mentor-mentee relationship with Ms. Kaplan), we are unable to flesh out our
position concerning what specific relief should be requested, including, but not limited to, moving
for new trials on the issues of liability and damages. Surely, however, this Court should provide
defense counsel with all of the relevant facts. At a minimum, this information could certainly prove
relevant to President Trump’s forthcoming Rule 59 motion.”

[This case always seemed preposterous, given that Carroll had made herself a public person in her pursuit of Trump and that Trump has a First Amendment right to deny her claims and question her motives in making them. Furthermore, this trial judge demanded that the jury accept the previous trial verdict and refused to allow Trump to challenge its veracity in what was essentially a rerun. All of that seemed strange on its own, but if the judge really did fail to disclose a personal relationship to the plaintiff’s counsel, that at least adds to the perception of unfairness. Is that enough for a reversal? We’ll see. You can bet that Trump’s attorney will make that one of the grounds for appeal. — Ed]