New York police confiscated a firearm belonging to writer E. Jean Carroll in February following her testimony in a defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, during which she disclosed having an unlicensed firearm at her residence.
Under New York state law, a person can be found guilty of criminal possession if they possess a firearm, such as a pistol, that has not been registered. The felony carries a maximum sentence of four years.
It was unclear why police waited almost a month to inquire in person about the unregistered gun Carroll said she had at her house or whether police are still in possession of it.
Carroll’s ownership of the firearm became a point of contention during cross-examination in the January hearing, as Trump attorney Alina Habba questioned Carroll about her gun possession and whether she was aware of the requirement for a license. But US District Judge Lewis Kaplan would have none of it, NBC noted.
“Don’t even start”, he warned Habba over the line of questioning.
NBC News reported Friday that “the chief of police in Warwick, New York, visited Carroll at her home on Feb. 15 ‘to discuss some open issues’, the [police] report states, including Carroll’s disclosure of the handgun while she was on the witness stand January 17”.
During the second day of the trial, Carroll testified before the federal court in lower Manhattan that she kept a “high standard revolver, nine chambers” at home with ammunition. “By my bed”, she said.
“I still do not have a license”, Carroll added.
John Rader, the police officer reporting the incident, said in his statement that he “offered to secure the weapon at the police station’s property for safekeeping”.
Carroll and a member of her security team surrendered the firearm the day after Rader’s visit. The report indicated that the gun would be held until Carroll obtained a New York handgun license, NBC said.
The outlet noted further:
The jury ruled that Trump must pay Carroll US$83.3 million in damages for his repeated defamation of her. This amount comprised US$11 million for harm to Carroll’s reputation, US$7.3 million for emotional distress and other losses, and US$65 million in punitive damages.
Earlier this month, Habba tore into Carroll, calling her “crazy” and pledging Carroll would get “ZERO” from the bombshell US$83 million defamation award.
During an interview on the Patrick Bet-David-hosted “PBD Podcast”, Habba vowed to sue Carroll for former President Donald Trump’s legal fees.
Habba represented the losing side in the case that resulted in Trump being hit with a bombshell US$83.3 million judgment for defaming Carroll while he was president. Trump has posted a massive US$91.6 million bond to proceed with his appeal of the bombshell judgment.
In one segment, Habba was asked how much of the $83 million award Carroll would get, and Habba went off, vowing Trump’s victim will not only get “ZERO” but that she’s going to sue Carroll for attorney’s fees.
