一名联邦法官周一无限期推迟了对作家的诽谤诉讼E.让·卡罗尔起诉了前总统唐纳德·特朗普。

前《Elle》杂志专栏作家卡罗尔声称，特朗普否认了她关于他在20世纪90年代在波道夫古德曼更衣室强奸她的指控，这是对她的诽谤。

审判原定于4月10日开始。卡罗尔和特朗普的律师拒绝置评。

法官刘易斯·卡普兰(Lewis Kaplan)宣布休庭，没有确定新的日期，他在等待另一家法院的裁决，这可能会影响审判是否继续进行。

E.让卡罗尔，中心，等待进入纽约，2020年3月4日法庭。

Seth Wenig/AP，文件

华盛顿特区上诉法院(Court of Appeals)管辖联邦雇员的行为，该法院正在决定特朗普发表反对卡罗尔的言论时，他是否以总统的官方身份行事。如果是这样，司法部将取代特朗普成为被告，案件将会结束，因为联邦政府不能被指控诽谤。

去年卡罗尔提起了第二起诽谤诉讼指控特朗普也涉嫌殴打。卡普兰法官在裁决中拒绝为审判目的合并案件。

在刑事案件中，特朗普可以拒绝为自己辩护作证。在民事案件中，原告可以传唤他作证。卡罗尔的律师罗伯塔·卡普兰没有说她是否会出庭。

E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Trump indefinitely delayed

A federal judge on Monday indefinitely delayed the defamation lawsuit writerE. Jean Carroll brought againstformer President Donald Trump.

Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, claimed Trump defamed her when he denied her allegation that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.

The trial had been set to begin on April 10. Attorneys for Carroll and Trump declined to comment.

Judge Lewis Kaplan adjourned the case without setting a new date while he awaits a decision from a different court that could affect whether the trial goes forward.

The Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals, which governs the conduct of federal employees, is deciding whether Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he spoke out against Carroll. If so, the Justice Department would substitute for Trump as the defendant and the case would be over, as the federal government cannot be sued for defamation.

Last year Carrollfiled a second defamation lawsuitagainst Trump that also alleged battery. In his ruling, Judge Kaplan declined to merge the cases for the purposes of trial.

In a criminal case, Trump could decline to testify in his defense. In a civil case, he could be called to testify by the plaintiff. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, has not said whether she would.