Video of Trump's E. Jean Carroll deposition made public amid lawsuit trial
Attorneys for the writer E. Jean Carroll released about 48 minutes of deposition video shown at the trial in which former President Donald Trump was pressed about Carroll's claim that he raped her in the 1990s.
The video was released after media organizations, including CBS News, asked the judge in the case to make it public.
During the October deposition, Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan showed Trump a late-1980s photo of him with his then-wife Ivana, Carroll and her then-husband John Johnson. Referring to Carroll, Trump said, "It's Marla," referring to his second wife, Marla Maples.
"That's Marla, yeah. That's my wife," he said, before being corrected and told it was Carroll. The writer sued Trump for defamation and battery after he said she "made up" allegations that he raped her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s. Trump has adamantly denied the allegations and claimed Carroll "is not my type."
Jurors in the federal civil trial watched the deposition video Wednesday and Thursday, including a series of combative exchanges in which Trump reiterated that claim about Carroll's appearance and insisted the allegations are a made up story.
When Trump was told that Carroll was the person he believed was Maples — to whom he was married for six years, and who is the mother of one of Trump's daughters — he replied that the photo was "very blurry."
"I say with as much respect as I can but she is not my type," Trump said. "Not my type in any way, shape, or form."
Trump later told Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan that he would not "have any interest" in her either.
"You wouldn't be a choice of mine either, to be honest with you, I hope you're not insulted," Trump said.
The video also shows Trump calling Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan a "political operative" and a "disgrace."
The plaintiff and defendant rested their cases Thursday, after Carroll's team called two more witnesses. Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopina, said he won't call any witnesses, and he waived Trump's right to testify in the case. The judge decided that in order to ensure that each party has a "full and fair opportunity" to speak, he would give the former president until 5 p.m. Sunday to motion to appear, should he have second thoughts. The judge has said the trial may conclude next week.
Tacopina's representation of Trump Thursday in his civil trial meant he could not be present for a hearing two blocks away in Trump's state criminal case. Trump entered a not guilty plea to 34 counts of falsification of business records on April 4, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to be charged with crimes. The charges, which Trump adamantly denies, stem from a "hush money" payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election,.
In that hearing, Trump's attorneys and prosecutors for the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued over a proposed protective order that would bar Trump from publicizing evidence turned over to him as part of discovery.
The judge has not ruled, but he signaled Thursday that he would issue the protective order.
Later Thursday, Trump's attorneys filed paperwork moving the case from state to federal court. Bragg's office has not yet responded.
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- E. Jean Carroll
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