Video shows Donald Trump defend lewd comments in deposition for rape lawsuit
- The 48-minute clip was released by the judge, after it was shown to jurors in lieu of live testimony by the ex-president
- Trump, who has been accused of rape by writer E. Jean Carroll, has until Sunday to change his mind about not appearing in court
A 48-minute clip of former President Donald Trump’s videotaped deposition in writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit accusing him of raping her in the 1990s was made public on Friday.
The excerpt of the deposition, which took place in October, was released by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan at the request of media organisations.
The video was previously played in court for the jury of six men and three women on Thursday, the last day of testimony in the trial of Carroll’s suit.
In the video, Trump strenuously denies Carroll’s claim that he ran into her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the spring of 1996, asked her to help him pick out a gift for an unspecified woman, led her to the sixth-floor lingerie department and allegedly raped her in a dressing room.
The jury watched the video in lieu of live testimony by Trump, who declined to appear in the trial that started April 25.
The judge has given Trump until Sunday at 5pm to change his mind. Closing statement are set for Monday, with deliberations expected on Tuesday.
Carroll’s lawyers used the video to illustrate for jurors what they say is a pattern of misconduct.