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07-05-2023
NEW YORK: The former president of the United States, Donald Trump’s 48-minute video that shows him providing evidence for his civil rape trial has been released by a New York court.
During the video, Trump misidentifies his accuser, E Jean Carroll, for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo. The former president also repeats his denial of Ms Carroll’s allegations by stating that she is “not my type.”
In the deposition, Trump can be seen shifting uncomfortably when he is shown the leaked Access Hollywood tape that was published by the Washington Post during the 2016 presidential campaign. In the tape, Trump can be heard saying “you can do anything” to women “when you’re a star”.
Trump’s lawyers called no witnesses before resting their case, and the former president has not been present in New York for the trial. However, on a judge’s orders, Trump formally provided sworn evidence on camera last October over Ms Carroll’s claim that he raped her inside a New York City department store in the mid-1990s.
Video of the deposition was shown to jurors on Thursday and publicly released for the first time on Friday after a petition by media organizations.
Carroll, a writer and long-time advice columnist, is suing the former president for battery over the original incident, as well as for defamation over his adamant denials of the incident. During the deposition, Trump repeated a comment he has made since Ms Carroll first came forward in 2019, saying: “I say it with as much respect as I can, but she is not my type.”
“Physically, she’s not my type, and now that I’ve gotten indirectly to hear things about her, she wouldn’t be my type in any way, shape, or form,” he adds.
Lawyers for Trump have said he will not testify in person. Still, the former president told reporters he might cut short a trip to Ireland and the UK to “confront” Ms Carroll in court. In light of the comments, the judge granted Trump until Sunday afternoon to decide if he will take the stand. Lawyers for both sides rested their case on Thursday.
The video footage could have a significant impact in deciding the case. Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, now a columnist for Politico, pointed to the impact the footage could have in deciding the case. In the clip, Trump called Carroll’s claim “the most ridiculous, disgusting story” and said it was “just made up.”
An exchange followed about when Trump became aware of a picture showing him with his first wife, Ivana Trump, Carroll, and Carroll’s then-husband, John Johnson, at a public event in New York. Shown the picture, Trump said: “I don’t even know who the woman let’s see, I don’t know who, it’s Marla.” (Int’l News Desk)
