Donald Trump could soon face deposition in rape defamation case

Donald Trump faces a defamation case brought against him by American writer E Jean Carroll in connection with her accusation that the former president raped her in the mid-1990s.

Carroll, an author and former Elle magazine columnist, claims the rape occurred in a New York department store fitting room.

She told the international news organization Reuters that she hopes to be there if Trump is deposed in the case.

“I’m living for the moment to walk into that room and sit across from him,” Carroll said in an interview. “I think about it every day.”

The case against the former US president was filed in November 2019 after Trump accused Carroll of lying over the sale of books.

Trump claims the accusation could not have happened as he believed the couple never met.

“She’s not my type,” Trump said.

Carroll seeks “unspecified damages and a retraction of his statements.”

The legal team working with Carroll hopes the case will move forward as the defendant is no longer the president of the United States.

This is one of two defamation cases involving sexual misconduct against Trump.

Since he is no longer president, there is a chance that this case brought by Carroll will advance rapidly.

Trump’s lawyers delayed the case while he was in office, arguing that his office’s duties made it impossible to respond to the civil suits.

“The only barrier to proceeding with the civil suits was that he was the president,” Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor, told Reuters.

Rodgers is now an adjunct professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law.

“I think the judges will have the feeling that it is time to move forward on these cases,” said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney.

Trump’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Carroll is one of more than 24 women who have come out publicly and accused Trump of sexual misconduct that they say occurred before he took office.

After the failed attempts by his layers to have Carroll’s case dismissed or delayed, officials at the U.S. Department of Justice under his administration took the unusual step of asking the administration to replace Trump as a defendant in the case.

Lawyers for the Justice Department argued that Trump, like any government employee, is entitled under federal law to immunity from civil lawsuits when performing his job.

They also said that he was acting in his capacity as president when he said that Carroll was lying.

Carroll’s attorneys are also looking for a DNA sample from Trump, Carroll claims that she still owns the dress she was wearing when the alleged attack occurred.

“I hung it in my closet,” he said.

Crossing paths at a Bergdorf Goodman store in the mid-1990s, she says Trump recognized her.

She says they talked and Trump asked her to choose a gift for an unknown woman where they ended up in the lingerie department.

She says Trump asked her to try on a bodysuit when he closed the door and pinned Carroll against the wall, unbuttoned her pants and assaulted her.

Caroll only told two friends and did not go to the police because she feared punishment from Trump.

Inspired by the #MeToo movement, she made her story public in a June 2019 New York magazine article, adapted from a new book, Why Do We Need Men? A modest proposal.

After the lawsuit was filed in 2019, her attorney, Kaplan, had a guard escort her to retrieve the dress for forensic evidence.

The test found no semen on the dress, however it did find DNA from an unknown male.

“How the DNA got stuck to that dress would be the argument,” said Monte Miller, a biochemist who runs a DNA testing consultancy.

“It is up to the lawyers, the courts and everyone else to discuss why it is there and how it got there.”

However, DNA would not prove Trump’s guilt, but a match could be used as evidence.

“This libel lawsuit is not about me,” said Carroll, who meets regularly with other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. It’s about all the women “who can’t talk.”

Where to get help:

• If it is an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
• If you have ever been sexually assaulted or abused and need to speak to someone, call the Confidential Safe to Talk Crisis Help Line at: 0800 044 334 or text 4334 (available 24 hours , 7 days a week).
• Male survivors Aotearoa offers a variety of confidential support at centers in New Zealand; find the closest one here.
• Mosaic – Personal Care: 0800 94 22 94 (available from 11:00 to 20:00)
• If you have been abused, remember that it is not your fault.
• Wellington HELP has a 24/7 helpline for people who need to speak to someone right away. You can call 04801 6655 and press 0 in the menu