Trump answers questions under oath in writer's defamation lawsuit - NBC News

Former President Donald Trump answered questions nether oath Wednesday successful a defamation suit brought by a writer who alleges helium raped her successful the mid-1990s.

Roberta Kaplan, an attorney for E. Jean Carroll, who was a longtime columnist for Elle magazine, confirmed to NBC News that Trump was deposed connected Wednesday. When asked however agelong the deposition lasted, Kaplan said that accusation was deemed confidential.

Carroll sued Trump for defamation successful 2019 aft the then-president denied her allegation that helium raped her successful an upscale Manhattan section store’s dressing room. The suit claims Trump ruined Carroll's estimation erstwhile helium denied her accusation.

A justice ruled past week that the erstwhile president indispensable beryllium for a deposition successful the case, rejecting a petition by Trump’s lawyers to hold the testimony. Trump’s lawyers had tried to quash the suit by arguing that helium was acting successful his capableness arsenic president erstwhile helium denied the rape allegations — an statement that aimed to marque the U.S. authorities the suspect and trim Carroll's chances of occurrence fixed protections for national employees who are sued for actions connected the job.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wrote that the suit indispensable proceed aft being successful ineligible limbo for 3 years, citing the “advanced age” of Carroll, 77, and Trump, 76, and imaginable witnesses.

“The suspect should not beryllium permitted to tally the timepiece retired connected plaintiff’s effort to summation a remedy for what allegedly was a superior wrong,” Kaplan wrote.

Kaplan noted with disapproval a bid of attempts by Trump to hold the postulation of grounds successful the defamation lawsuit.

“Given his behaviour truthful acold successful this case, Mr. Trump’s presumption regarding the burdens of find is inexcusable,” helium wrote. “As this Court antecedently has observed, Mr. Trump has litigated this lawsuit since it began successful 2019 with the effect and astir apt the intent of delaying it.”

Trump earlier took purpose astatine Carroll successful a station connected his societal media level aft the justice denied his petition to hold the deposition.

“This ‘Ms. Bergdorf Goodman’ lawsuit is simply a implicit con job,” Trump wrote.

NBC News has reached retired to a Trump spokesperson for remark connected Wednesday's deposition.

Trump has repeatedly denied ever gathering Carroll, saying she was “totally lying” erstwhile she accused him of intersexual assault.

“I’ll accidental it with large respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it ne'er happened. It ne'er happened, OK?” Trump told The Hill successful 2019.

In a tribunal filing past month, Carroll’s lawyers indicated she plans to writer Trump successful November nether a caller New York statute that permits victims of intersexual battle to writer years aft an alleged incident.