Former President Donald Trump denied having been with E. Jean Carroll at Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman clothing store, located not far from Trump Tower, in his deposition.
Wearing the Suit
She is suing him for defamation in response to a comment Trump made about her last fall on Truth Social in which he wrote: “It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years. And, while I am not supposed to say it, I will. This woman is not my type!” Trump wrote on 2022 on TruthSocial.”
Carroll claimed in her 2019 book that Trump raped her at the store in 1996.
The court made the deposition public on Thursday. He called Carroll’s suit a “phony case.”
Trump admitted in his testimony that he might have visited the store a handful of times while shopping for one of his wives. He also clarified that when he said that Carroll was “not my type” he was never attracted to her.
“I still don’t know this woman. I think she’s a whack job … I don’t know anything about this woman or anything than what I read in stories and what I hear. I know nothing about her,” Trump said.
He accused Carroll’s lawyer, who deposed him, of being a political operative.
“…[S]he’s accusing me and so are you of rape, and it never took place. And I will tell you I made that statement, while it’s politically incorrect, she’s not my type. And that’s 100 percent true. She’s not my type.
Trump told Carroll’s attorney the rape accusation was a “hoax,” a “fake story, a false story, a made-up story.” He denied kissing or having sexual contact with a woman without her consent.
He ridiculed Carroll for having told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that some people think rape is “sexy,” noting that he believes it’s one of the worst things that a man can be accused of.
Carroll’s lawyer referenced the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump talked about grabbing a woman “by the p**y.” The lawyer asked what he meant. Trump replied saying it’s what stars have done “if you look over the last million years.” The attorney then asked Trump if he sees himself as a star. Trump replied, “Yeah.”
Trump Says He ‘Probably Will Attend” the Trial
The release of the transcript of Trump’s case came as Carroll’s side rested its case. Trump attorney Joe Tacopina struggled to undermine Carroll’s credibility in court. Carroll’s friend Lisa Birnbach told the court that she had called her shortly after the alleged rape took place.
Birnbach described the assault in lurid detail using words similar to those found in Carroll’s book, claiming that she had told Carroll to report the alleged rape to the police. Carroll refused.
“She said: ‘promise me you will never speak of this again and promise me you will tell no one,’” Birnbach testified. “And I promised both of those things.”
The former president, who has been on vacation in his ancestral home of Scotland, told reporters he likely would make an appearance at the trial before it finishes.
“It’s a disgrace that it’s allowed to happen. It’s a false accusation against a rich guy, or in my case, a famous, rich, and political person that’s leading the polls by 40 points,” Trump said. “And I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me. And I have a judge who is extremely hostile.
Trump continued: “I am going to go back and confront this woman. This woman is a disgrace.”
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John Rossomando was a senior analyst for Defense Policy and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award in 2008 for his reporting.