Donald Trump deposition video in E. Jean Carroll case released
The October 2022 deposition shows Trump denying claims that he raped writer E. Jean Carroll.
Former President Trump slammed the Department of Justice for not backing him in the E. Jean Carroll case and repeated the claim he does not know her.
"The DOJ will not defend me in the E. Jean Carroll civil case, which is all part of the political Witch Hunt, lawyered up by a political operative who I just beat in another case, financed by a big political funder, and ‘judged’ by a Clinton appointee who truly hates ‘TRUMP.’ The statements that I made about Carroll are all true. I didn’t Rape her (I won that at trial) and other than for this case, I have NO IDEA WHO SHE IS, WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE, OR ANYTHING ABOUT HER," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social early Wednesday.
In a follow-up post, Trump continued, "The Carroll civil case against me is a Miscarriage of Justice and a total Scam. The trial was very unfair, with the other side being able to do and present virtually anything they wanted, and our side being largely and wrongfully shut down by an absolutely hostile, biased, and out of control judge. My lawyers, due to their respect for the Office of the President and the incredulity of the case, did not want me to testify, or even be at the trial….."
The messages come a day after the U.S. government reversed an earlier decision that Trump could be immune from Carroll’s $10 million defamation lawsuit.
NEW YORK JURY FINDS DONALD TRUMP SEXUALLY ABUSED E JEAN CARROLL IN CIVIL SUIT
Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump delivers remarks at a Nevada Republican volunteer recruiting event on July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. Trump once again denied knowing E. Jean Carroll. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In a letter filed with the judge presiding over a defamation lawsuit that Carroll brought in Manhattan federal court in 2020, the department says it no longer has "a sufficient basis" to conclude that Trump was motivated in his statements about Carroll’s claims by more than an insignificant desire to serve the United States.
Previously, the department had agreed with Trump's attorneys that he was protected from the lawsuit by the Westfall Act, which provides federal employees absolute immunity from lawsuits brought over conduct occurring within the scope of their employment.
In May, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in 1996 at a midtown Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman store and then defamed her last fall with comments he made about her and her claims. While the jury concluded that Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll, it ruled in Trump's favor regarding her rape claim.
Writer E. Jean Carroll testified that she was raped by former President Trump, giving details about the alleged attack in the mid-1990s. Trump had stated that the attack never happened and has denied meeting her. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The trial resulted from a lawsuit Carroll brought last November after New York state temporarily allowed victims of sexual abuse to make civil claims for incidents that took place decades earlier.
In the government's letter, U.S. lawyers cited the jury's verdict, Trump’s October deposition, and new claims Carroll has since made that Trump defamed her again with comments he made during a CNN town hall a day after the verdict.
Magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll leaves after her civil trial against former President Trump at Manhattan Federal Court on May 9, 2023, in New York City. Trump was found liable for battery and defamation against Carroll. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
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"You're a political operative also. You're a disgrace," Trump told Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, during the on-camera deposition in Manhattan in October. "But she's accusing me and so are you of rape, and it never took place. And I will tell you I made that statement, and I said, while it's politically incorrect, she's not my type. And that's 100 percent true. She's not my type."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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