Trump calls E. Jean Carroll rape allegation 'the most ridiculous, disgusting story' in video deposition shown at trial
Part of a prerecorded video deposition of Trump was shown to the jury deciding Carroll's rape and defamation lawsuit on Wednesday in Manhattan court.
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- Donald Trump is on trial over E. Jean Carroll's allegations that he raped, then defamed her.
- The former president denied Carroll's contentions in a videotaped deposition played in court on Wednesday.
- "It's the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It's just made up," Trump said.
Former President Donald Trump denied E. Jean Carroll's sexual assault allegation in a videotaped deposition that was played in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Wednesday.
Carroll, the longtime Elle advice columnist, is suing Trump for rape and defamation, alleging that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s, and ruined her reputation when he called her a liar when she went public with the accusation years later.
"It didn't happen," Trump said in the deposition, which was taken at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, in October.
Trump, who appeared uncharacteristically dour, went on to say that "if it did happen, it would have been reported in minutes" because Bergdorf Goodman —where he admitted he shopped "rarely" — is a "very busy store." The luxury department store is located just a block from Trump Tower.
"It's the most ridiculous, disgusting story. It's just made up," Trump said.
The bulk of the video deposition will be played Thursday morning, and Carroll's lawyers are expected to rest their case later in the day.
The video marked the first time that the jury has seen or heard from Trump in the case. The former president decided not to attend the trial in person, instead attending campaign events for his second run for the White House, and flying to his golf resort in Scotland.
On Wednesday, Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, announced that the defense would not be presenting a case to the jury, after their sole witness, a psychiatrist, was unable to testify due to a health issue. Closing arguments are expected for Monday, and the jurt will start deliberating Tuesday. Carroll is asking for Trump to retract his statements calling her a liar, and for the jury to award her unspecified damages.
Trump's video deposition was played on Wednesday after the court heard emotional testimony from Natasha Stoynoff, a writer who has also accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Stoynoff told the jury that Trump forcibly kissed her and pinned her against the wall while she visited him at Mar-a-Lago in 2005 to interview Trump and his then-pregnant third-wife Melania.
Stoynoff at times struggled to answer questions about the incident, choking back tears and grabbing tissues. She said after a butler walked in on the two of them alone in a room at Mar-a-Lago, Trump backed off her. However, as they were returning to another part of the estate to conduct an interview with Melania, she says Trump told her: "You know we're going to have an affair, don't you? Don't forget what Marla Maples said — best sex of her life. We're going to have steak, we're going to go to Peter Luger's."
Maples was Trump's second wife and during part of his video deposition he failed to recall what dates he was married to her.
Stoynoff said that after the incident, she went on "auto-pilot" and proceeded to interview Trump and his wife together, before returning to New York the next day. She said she told several people about the incident, but didn't go public with the story until a video was leaked during the 2016 presidential campaign, in which Trump bragged about groping women.
When the so-called "Access Hollywood" tape came out, Stoynoff said she was a little "relieved" because it made her feel less alone to know that he treated other women this way. But on the flip side, it also made her feel guilty.
"I worried that because I didn't say anything at the time, other women were hurt, so I had some regret there," Stoynoff said, getting emotional.
After the tape came out, she said she was contacted by People to write an essay about what happened to her at Mar-a-Lago, but she says she held off, instead waiting to see how he answered questions about the tape at a debate shortly after. When Anderson Cooper asked Trump at the debate if he had ever forcibly kissed any woman, and Trump denied, Stoynoff said she agreed to write the story for People.
"I thought, 'You liar.'" Stoynoff recalled thinking at the time. "I was just really upset that he was lying to the American people."