Former US President Donald Trump’s deposition in his civil rape trial, involving his accuser E Jean Carroll, has been released by the court. The roughly 48-minute video shows Trump mistaking Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo and repeating his denial of her allegations, claiming she is “not my type”.
The video was shown to jurors on Thursday and publicly released for the first time on Friday after a petition by media organizations. Lawyers for both sides rested their case on Thursday, but Trump has not been present in New York for the trial and his lawyers called no witnesses before resting their case.
Carroll, a writer, and long-time advice columnist, is suing the former president for battery over the original incident, as well as for defamation over his adamant denials of the incident.
Trump provided sworn evidence on camera last October over Carroll’s claim that he raped her inside a New York City department store in the mid-1990s. During the deposition, Trump is shown the leaked Access Hollywood tape, where he is heard saying “You can do anything” to women “when you’re a star”.
The video shows Trump describing Carroll’s allegations as “the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It was just made up”. He is also unable to recall the date of his marriage to Maples and calls Carroll’s attorney a “political operative” and a “disgrace” during their combative exchanges. Lawyers for Trump have said he will not testify in person, but the former president told reporters he might cut short a trip to Ireland and the UK to “confront” Carroll in court. The judge granted Trump until Sunday afternoon to decide if he will take the stand.
