When questioned about a decades-old photo during a deposition in October, former President Donald Trump mistaken his rape accuser E. Jean Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples.
Trump is shown on video being questioned by Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, in a tweet published by Law & Crime Managing Editor Adam Klasfeld on Friday.
When shown a photo of Carroll standing close to Trump at a previous party, Trump stated many times that he thought Carroll was his second wife, Maples.
A rush of E. Jean Carroll v. Donald Trump exhibits have been released — including the former president's video deposition.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 5, 2023
Here's an excerpt where Trump mistakes Carroll with his ex-wife Marla Maples.
Background, @LawCrimeNews: https://t.co/SqzCH2RjpY pic.twitter.com/IIkbCBGCNL
"That's Marla," he explained. "That's my wife."
"Which woman are you pointing to?" Kaplan questioned the photo, which also included Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump.
After confirming that he was pointing to Carroll and being advised by his own attorney that the woman was, in fact, Carroll rather than Maples, Trump said, "Oh, I see."
He then explained his error by claiming that the shot in question was fuzzy.
Carroll's counsel emphasised the error in recently disclosed court filings in order to refute Trump's previous allegations that Carroll was not his "type."
"I'll say it with all due respect: she's not my type. No. 2, it never occurred. It didn't happen, okay?" In 2019, he told The Hill in an Oval Office interview.
Carroll's suit, filed on Thanksgiving Day 2022 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that "roughly 27 years ago, playful banter at the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in New York City took a dark turn when Defendant Donald J. Trump seized Plaintiff E. Jean Carroll, forced her up against a dressing room wall, pinned her in place with his shoulder, and raped her."
Carroll allegedly "remained silent for over two decades" out of fear of being buried in "threats and lawsuits" and having her reputation and livelihood harmed.
The suit claims that the incident "severely injured Carroll, causing significant pain and suffering, lasting psychological harms, loss of dignity, and invasion of her privacy" and seeks "redress for her injuries and to demonstrate that even a man as powerful as Trump can be held accountable under the law."
If Carroll prevails in the trial, it will be the first time Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women, has been held legally accountable for sexual misbehaviour.
