Lawyer: Trump Was 'Pleased to Set Record Straight'

He answered questions under oath in deposition lawsuit
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2022 9:40 AM CDT
Updated Oct 20, 2022 12:46 AM CDT
On Wednesday, Trump to Sit for Deposition He Tried to Avoid
Columnist E. Jean Carroll leaves federal court on Feb. 22 in New York.   (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister, File)

Update: Former President Trump sat for a deposition Wednesday in the defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. The deposition was taken at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, CNN reports. Lawyers representing Carroll, who accuses Trump of raping her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, said they were "pleased" they could take the deposition but they couldn't comment further. "My client was pleased to set the record straight today," Trump attorney Alina Habba said, per the BBC. "This case is nothing more than a political ploy like many others in the long list of witch hunts against Donald Trump." A civil trial in the case is scheduled for February 6. Our story from Wednesday follows:

Former President Trump will be deposed on Wednesday as part of the defamation lawsuit brought three years ago by the writer E. Jean Carroll, though CNN notes it's not clear if Trump will actually answer any questions or opt to cite his Fifth Amendment rights. Carroll, 78, sued Trump, 76, after he described her as "totally lying" and not his "type" after she publicly alleged he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s.

US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan last week denied a request by Trump's lawyers to delay the deposition while a DC appeals court considers whether Trump was just doing his job as president when he denied the allegations. That appeals court ruling may not come for some time; Kaplan has noted the parties' ages in saying Trump should "not be permitted to run the clock out." As for the nuts and bolts of Trump's deposition:

story continues below

  • The New York Times, which notes the deposition is expected to occur at Mar-a-Lago, reports Trump's lawyer described him as "ready and eager to sit" for questioning. The paper points out that Trump hasn't retreated from his initial position. In the wake of Kaplan's decision last week, he doubled down, saying, "And, while I am not supposed to say it, I will. This woman is not my type!"
  • Carroll had been scheduled to give her deposition Friday. Under a "routine order," the depositions will be kept confidential throughout the pretrial discovery process, the Times notes on the subject of whether the public will be able to see the deposition.
  • If the DC appeals court rules in Trump's favor, it'll be the death knell for Carroll's suit, but not necessarily for her effort against Trump. Carroll has said she plans to file a separate suit in November under a new New York State law that allows sex-assault victims to sue years later. Trump's deposition could factor into that lawsuit.
(More Donald Trump stories.)

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