Deposition Unsealed in Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Rape

January 9, 2023 by Tom Ramstack
Deposition Unsealed in Lawsuit Accusing Trump of Rape
In this March 4, 2020, file photo, E. Jean Carroll talks to reporters outside a courthouse in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK — A woman who accused former President Donald Trump of raping her claimed in parts of a deposition unsealed publicly Monday that her life was thrown into turmoil by the assault in a New York department store dressing room.

E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine advice columnist, gave the deposition as part of her lawsuit against Trump for defamation and battery.

Carroll first revealed her version of the sexual assault in a June 21, 2019, article in New York magazine. She gave further details of the alleged rape in her book, “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal.”

Trump denied the allegations, at one point saying Carroll lied. Trump’s denials prompted Carroll to sue.

During the deposition, Trump attorney Alina Habba asked her, “Have you ever questioned if what happened in that dressing room was rape?”

Carroll responded, “I question whether he thought it was rape. I never questioned what I thought.”

Habba asked her, “During the two decades that followed, how would you say the alleged attack impacted your life?”

Carroll said, “Well, four or five years ago I would have told you it had no effect. ‘I’m as good as new. This is great. I’m fine. I rarely think of it.’ But I’ve come to understand that that rape changed my life, which is shocking for me to now understand.”

When asked for further details, Carroll said, “I lost my job. I’m looked at as a woman who’s untrustworthy, looked at now as a woman who can’t be believed. I’m looked at as a woman who was stupid and dumb enough to have happen to her what happened to her.”

Habba implied Carroll might have been trying to capitalize on Trump’s presidency when she asked, “Were the timing of your allegations related to the former president’s run for reelection?”

Carroll answered, “No.”

Habba asked, “Was it something you considered?”

Carroll answered, “No.”

When Habba asked why Carroll did not come forward with her rape allegations against Trump earlier, she said, “I’m going to say something that even surprises me because women who have been raped are looked at in this society as less, are looked at as spoiled goods, are looked at as rather dumb to let themselves get attacked. I mean, even you have to say, ‘Did you scream?’ I mean every woman who admits to being attacked has to answer that question: ‘Why didn’t you scream? Why did you come forward when you did? Why didn’t you come forward before?’ And so no, I didn’t — I would have been fired.”

Carroll said that she ran into Trump at a Bergdorf Goodman department store but was unable to recall whether it was the fall of 1995 or the spring of 1996. She said she spoke with him and they joked about trying on lingerie before walking into a dressing room together.

She said Trump kissed her, pulled down her tights and raped her over the course of about three minutes before she was able to escape. Two of her friends recalled that Carroll confided in them about the sexual assault shortly after it occurred.

Trump said Carroll was “totally lying.”

“I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type,” Trump said. “Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?”

He also said he had never met her, despite the fact the New York magazine article included a photograph of Trump standing near Carroll in 1987. Carroll said they were socializing.

Trump dismissed the significance of the photograph by saying, “Standing with my coat on in a line — give me a break — with my back to the camera. I have no idea who she is.”

In a June 2019 interview with The Hill, a political newspaper, Trump said he knew “nothing about her.” He implied her allegations were politically and financially motivated.

Five months later, Carroll filed the defamation lawsuit against Trump in a New York state court. She later added the battery claim.

Trump’s attorneys failed when they tried to get the lawsuit dismissed by arguing the presidency gave him immunity from liability. They also were unable to prevent the judge from ordering that unredacted parts of Carroll’s deposition be unsealed on Monday.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan explained his reasons for denying the motion for dismissal and continued sealing by saying Trump’s comments that led to the defamation lawsuit were not related to his job as president.

Carroll’s attorneys are asking the court to grant a trial in the lawsuit in April.

Tom can be reached at [email protected] and @TomRamstack.

A+
a-
  • deposition
  • Donald Trump
  • E. Jean Carroll
  • rape
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Law

    July 10, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Justice Dept. Whistleblower Program Offers Big Rewards for Antitrust Information 

    WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a whistleblower program that would give potentially large rewards to anyone who... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a whistleblower program that would give potentially large rewards to anyone who reports antitrust crimes. The crimes typically involve organized deception that hurts consumers, taxpayers and free market competition. Whistleblowers who provide the Justice Department with original information... Read More

    July 10, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Federal Judge Certifies Class Action in Birthright Citizenship Case

    CONCORD, N.H. — A federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship, reviving a legal standoff... Read More

    CONCORD, N.H. — A federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship, reviving a legal standoff with the White House just days after the Supreme Court blocked federal judges from using nationwide injunctions to thwart the president's policies. Ruling from the bench... Read More

    July 9, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Pediatricians Sue Kennedy Over ‘Unscientific Changes’ to Vaccine Policy

    WASHINGTON — The American Academy of Pediatrics and a half dozen other major medical groups sued Health Secretary Robert F.... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The American Academy of Pediatrics and a half dozen other major medical groups sued Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday for making “unilateral, unscientific changes to federal vaccine policy” that they contend are an “assault” on science and public health. In a... Read More

    July 8, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Gun Rights Groups Sue to Block National Firearms Act Enforcement

    WASHINGTON — A coalition of Second Amendment advocates is suing to invalidate gun ownership restrictions that were revised by the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A coalition of Second Amendment advocates is suing to invalidate gun ownership restrictions that were revised by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act President Donald Trump signed July 4. The bill removes many of the National Firearms Act taxes associated with gun ownership. The... Read More

    July 8, 2025
    by Alexa Citrin
    Trump Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Campus Activists Goes to Trial 

    BOSTON — A trial over the Trump administration’s attempts to deport international students and scholars involved in pro-Palestinian activism on... Read More

    BOSTON — A trial over the Trump administration’s attempts to deport international students and scholars involved in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses began on Monday with the plaintiffs arguing the efforts threaten to upend free speech rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. “Not since the McCarthy... Read More

    July 7, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    FBI Report on Sex Trafficker Prompts Elon Musk to Accuse Trump of Cover-Up

    WASHINGTON — A new FBI report on the 2019 jailhouse death of financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A new FBI report on the 2019 jailhouse death of financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has reignited a feud between President Donald Trump and his former billionaire ally Elon Musk. The FBI concluded that Epstein committed suicide in jail, despite conspiracy theorists... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top