NEW YORK: The video deposition of former president Donald Trump in a US defamation and rape lawsuit against him was released to the public on Friday.
The footage, some of which was presented in court earlier this week, captures Trump being questioned about his controversial comments in the “Access Hollywood” tape that was leaked prior to the 2016 election.
During the deposition, recorded in October 2022, Trump acknowledged that his comments suggesting famous people had the freedom to sexually assault women were “historically” true “over the last million years.” When asked by E. Jean Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, if he considers himself a star, Trump responds, “I think you can say that, yeah.”
The video also shows Trump mistakenly identifying Carroll as his ex-wife Marla Maples in an old photograph, with Trump acknowledging the image’s blurriness after his lawyer points out the mistake. Trump maintains that he does not know Carroll and repeatedly asserts that she is not his type.
Press members petition judge to release the video
Members of the press petitioned the judge overseeing the civil trial to release the video, and the judge ruled that it was up to the involved parties to decide. Carroll filed the lawsuit against Trump last year, alleging that he raped her in the mid-1990s in a New York department store. She also accuses Trump of defaming her when he publicly called her a liar in 2019.
Trump vehemently denies the allegations and has not faced criminal prosecution for them. Carroll’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for psychological trauma and other harm, as well as a retraction of Trump’s comments.
On Thursday, Both sides rested their case, and the nine-person jury is expected to announce a verdict next week. This case is among several legal challenges faced by Trump as he contemplates a return to the White House in next year’s election. Last month, Trump pleaded not guilty in a criminal case related to a hush-money paid to a porn star just before the 2016 vote.
Furthermore, Trump is under investigation for his alleged involvement in attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, mishandling classified documents taken from the White House, and his role in the storming of the US Capitol by his political supporters on January 6, 2021.
