In deposition, Trump dismisses ‘hoax’ rape claim, threatens to sue accuser

Former President Trump repeatedly insulted and threatened to sue a writer who has accused him of raping her in the 1990s, according to recently unsealed portions of his October deposition.

Trump is being sued by E. Jean Carroll, who has accused the former president of raping her in a New York City department store, one of more than 20 women who have accused the New York real estate mogul of sexual misconduct.

The unsealed deposition became public after a federal judge in New York rejected Trump’s efforts to shield the records from being released.

In the deposition from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the former president calls Carroll a “wack job,” says she is “sick, mentally sick,” and argues “there’s something wrong with her in my opinion.” Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation by Carroll, who sued Trump in 2019 after he accused her of lying about the incident.

Trump also threatens to sue Carroll in the deposition, repeatedly calling the accusation a “hoax.”

“I will sue her after this is over, and that’s the thing I really look forward to doing,” he said.

“And I’ll sue you, too,” he added to Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan.

In an October post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump repeated his past assertion that Carroll “is not my type!”

“There’s no way I would ever be attracted to her,” he added in the deposition. “Now, some people would be attracted to her perhaps. I would never be attracted to her.”

The former president, who in November announced a 2024 White House campaign, goes on to say that the deposition and the lawsuit are a waste of time and a distraction for him. 

“Keep Trump busy because this is the way you defeat him, to keep him busy with litigation,” he said.

At one point, Kaplan asks Trump in the deposition if he has ever pressured women to engage in sex, to which Trump responds: “The answer is no. But you may have some people like your client who are willing to lie.”

And asked if he had ever kissed a woman without consent, he replied, “Well, I don’t — I can’t think of any complaints. But no. I mean, I don’t think so.”

Mischaracterizing an interview Carroll did on CNN, Trump falsely said the writer “actually indicated that she loved it.”

“She loved it until commercial break,” he said. “In fact, I think she said it was sexy, didn’t she? She said it was very sexy to be raped. Didn’t she say that?”

Carroll had said in the interview that “most people think of rape as being sexy … they think of the fantasies,” but that “this was not sexual — it just hurt.”

Carroll filed a second lawsuit against Trump in New York in November, under a new state law that allows adult sexual assault accusers to sue over claims that have otherwise been barred by time. A judge rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss that lawsuit.

The case is expected to go to trial in April.