Donald Trump deposition: New York court releases a video in civil rape trial
The court has released a video of the deposition of former US President Donald Trump in his civil rape case.
The 48-minute-long video shows that Mr. Trump (76) mistook his accuser E Jean Carroll as his ex-wife Marla in a photograph.
He also denies Ms. Carroll’s accusations by saying she’s “not my type “.
Both sides have rested their cases on Thursday.
Mr. Trump was not present at the New York trial, and his attorneys did not call any witnesses before resting their cases.
On a judge’s order, the former President provided formally sworn testimony on camera in October last year regarding Ms. Carroll’s claim that she was raped inside a New York City Department Store during the mid-1990s.
Video of the deposition was shown to jurors on Thursday and publicly released for the first time on Friday after a petition by media organizations.
During his deposition, Mr. Trump was shown the Access Hollywood tape that had been leaked by the Washington Post and published during the 2016 campaign.
Mr. Trump can be seen shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he is heard on the tape saying “You can do anything” to women “when you’re a star”.
The footage also shows him describing Ms. Carroll’s allegations as “the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It was just made up”.
When he is shown an old photo of him with his first wife Ivana, Ms. Carroll, and her then-husband John Johnson, Mr. Trump misidentifies his accuser with the words “It’s Marla”.
Still looking at the picture, he says “That’s Marla, yeah. That’s my wife” before his lawyer corrects him. Mr. Trump then replies that the photo is “very blurry”.
At another point in the video, Mr. Trump is unable to recall the date of his marriage to Ms. Maples, his second wife, and mother to his daughter Tiffany.
Ms. 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.
In the deposition, Mr. Trump repeated a comment he has made since Ms. Carroll first came forward in 2019, saying: “I say it with as much respect as I can, but she is not my type.”
“Physically, she’s not my type, and now that I’ve gotten indirectly to hear things about her, she wouldn’t be my type in any way, shape, or form,” he adds.
He goes on to tell Ms. Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan: “You would not be my choice either, I hope you’re not insulted.”
During their combative exchanges, he calls Ms. Kaplan a “political operative” and a “disgrace”.
Lawyers for Mr. 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” Ms. Carroll in court.
In light of the comments, the judge granted Mr. Trump until Sunday afternoon to decide if he will take the stand.
