NEW YORK — Donald Trump utilized a sworn deposition successful a lawsuit brought by his intersexual battle accuser E. Jean Carroll to proceed calling her a liar and to assertion she is mentally sick — denying that helium sexually assaulted her adjacent arsenic helium falsely claimed Carroll said successful a CNN interrogation that she enjoyed being raped.
In rambling and combative grounds astatine an October league astatine Mar-a-Lago, Trump reiterated past claims helium didn’t cognize Carroll, but arsenic an adversary successful what helium termed “hoax” litigation, and said she was fabricating the communicative altogether.
“I cognize thing astir her,” helium said successful effect to questions from Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan, according to tribunal documents unsealed Friday. “I deliberation she’s sick. Mentally sick.”
The erstwhile president twisted Carroll’s comments from a June 2019 interrogation with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, successful which she said she shied distant from calling her alleged brushwood with Trump a “rape” due to the fact that the connection “has truthful galore intersexual connotations” and is simply a “fantasy” for many.
“I deliberation astir radical deliberation of rape arsenic being sexy,” she told Cooper, according to a transcript of the interview, explaining that she alternatively thinks of her alleged onslaught arsenic a “fight.”
Trump cited the interrogation successful telling Kaplan that Carroll “loved” intersexual assault.
“She really indicated that she loved it. Okay?” Trump said successful the deposition. “In fact, I deliberation she said it was sexy, didn’t she? She said it was precise sexy to beryllium raped.”
Kaplan past asked: “So, sir, I conscionable privation to confirm: It’s your grounds that E. Jean Carroll said that she loved being sexually assaulted by you?”
And Trump answered: “Well, based connected her interrogation with Anderson Cooper, I judge that’s what took place.”
Carroll, an writer and proposal columnist, publically accused Trump successful 2019 of raping her successful a dressing country astatine Bergdorf Goodman successful the mid-1990s. She has a brace of pending lawsuits against him successful national tribunal successful Manhattan, the archetypal for defamation implicit comments by Trump in 2019 trashing her and her account, and the latter implicit the alleged intersexual battle itself.
Trump has denied knowing Carroll astatine all, adjacent though helium was photographed with her and her then-husband astatine an lawsuit decades ago.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected a bid by Trump’s attorneys to disregard Carroll’s intersexual battle lawsuit, which was filed nether a New York instrumentality that lets intersexual battle victims writer years later.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba said she would entreaty the judge’s determination not to flip retired the newer case. A spokesperson for Trump’s 2024 statesmanlike run declined further comment.
The D.C. Court of Appeals is considering whether the Justice Department tin correspond Trump arsenic a national employee, a long-running ineligible quality that has been heard by assorted courts and which could efficaciously enactment an extremity to the defamation claims.
Kaplan has scheduled an April proceedings day for the cases.
At slightest 17 women person come guardant with allegations that Trump physically touched them inappropriately, galore of them supported by radical they told astatine the time. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations.
During the 2016 campaign, The Washington Post obtained a 2005 recording of Trump bragging astir unwanted kissing and groping connected the acceptable of the TV amusement “Access Hollywood.” Trump apologized for what helium chalked up arsenic “locker-room banter.”
Carroll’s lawsuits are portion of a heap of ineligible troubles hanging implicit Trump arsenic helium attempts to equine his governmental comeback. Earlier Friday, Trump’s institution was sentenced to wage a $1.6 cardinal fine for taxation crimes by 2 longtime executives, pursuing a condemnation astatine proceedings successful December. There is inactive abstracted civilian litigation brought by the New York lawyer general, Letitia James, accusing the institution of manipulating spot values for taxation benefits.
Trump is besides nether national probe for his efforts to overturn the 2020 predetermination results and the mishandling of classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida nine and home. In addition, a peculiar expansive assemblage investigating predetermination interference successful Georgia has submitted its report, which a justice volition determine whether to marque nationalist and authorities volition usage to determine whether to bring charges.
Since announcing his candidacy a week aft the 2022 midterm election, Trump has avoided ample nationalist events, opting alternatively for hosting respective galas astatine Mar-a-Lago and beaming into conferences by video. His run is readying a smaller-scale lawsuit successful South Carolina aboriginal this month, alternatively than 1 of his signature rallies.
Trump has faced a growing chorus of disapproval from Republicans blaming him for the party’s disappointing showing successful the midterms, with erstwhile House talker Paul D. Ryan chiming successful with a Thursday CNN interrogation calling Trump a “proven loser.”
Trump’s aboriginal announcement has not succeeded successful lining up overwhelming Republican endorsements oregon scaring disconnected different candidates, arsenic a fistful of different imaginable rivals continue making much overt moves toward launching their ain campaigns. Some aboriginal surveys person showed Trump trailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.