Video and a transcript of former President Donald Trump’s deposition in the defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll were released on court records friday
Carroll accused Trump in a civil suit of rape and defamation of her.
The deposition, taken in October at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, was made public a day after Carroll’s lawyers rested theirs case in the trial for the suit in US District Court in Manhattan. Trump’s lawyers did not present their own witnesses.
In the deposition, Trump said “that for the last million years … unfortunately or fortunately,” people who are considered “stars” have been able to grab women without their consent.
Trump told Carroll’s lawyer that he considers himself a star.
Portions of the transcript were previously released in separate court appearances, and jurors on Thursday were shown portions of a video of the deposition.
Watch the Trump deposition video here.
In one such section, Trump, who has repeatedly said Carroll is “not my type,” mistook her for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a 1980s photo showing her, Carroll, his wife then, and Trump’s then-wife Ivana. Trump together.
“That’s Marla, yes. That’s my wife,” Trump said before his attorney Alina Habba stepped in during the deposition to tell him, “No, that’s Carroll,” Habba said.
Trump then said the picture was “very bleak.”
From L-R: former President Donald Trump, E. Jean Carroll, John Johnson and Ivana Trump at an NBC party, late 1980s.
Source: US District Court in Manhattan
Carroll, 79, said Trump raped her in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s after they met in the public area of ​​that Manhattan store.
She also alleged in her suit that Trump, 76, defamed her in comments last fall accusing her of making the claim.
Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has denied raping Carroll.
“It never happened,” he said during the deposition.
“He’s a sick man, in my opinion. Really sick. There’s something wrong with him,” Trump said.
Two of Carroll’s friends testified at trial that she told them Trump raped her shortly after the alleged incident.
And two other women testified about separate incidents when Trump allegedly groped or kissed them against their will.
Trump’s attorney Joseph Tacopina told Judge Lewis Kaplan this week that the former president will not testify in person at trial.
Kaplan gave Tacopina until late Sunday afternoon to change her mind about calling Trump to the witness stand Monday. If Trump does not, closing arguments are set for Monday.
The deposition released Friday included Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, questioning Trump about comments he made on the “Access Hollywood” tape, when he was caught on a hot mic bragging to that show’s host on 2005 regarding groping and kissing women without their consent.
“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women – I just start kissing them, like a magnet. Just kiss. I’m not waiting,” Trump said on the tape. “And when you’re a star, they let you. You can do anything,” he said, including “grab ’em by the p—-.”
In his deposition, Trump called those comments “locker room talk,” the same term he used to dismiss them when the tape became public before the 2016 presidential election, which he won.
But Trump also told Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, that, “Well, historically, that’s true of the stars.”
Then Kaplan said, “Is it true of the stars that they can snatch women?”
Trump replied, “Well, that’s – if you look over the last million years, I think it’s mostly true. Not always, but mostly true. Unfortunately or fortunately.”
Then Kaplan said: “And you consider yourself a star?”
Trump replied, “I think you could say that, yes.”
