Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll accused then President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s when she released her memoir “What Do We Need Men For?” in 2019. She later filed a defamation lawsuit when he denied the allegations.
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan said Tuesday that her client does not seek to depose Trump prior to the defamation trial, as it would cause “unnecessary delay,” according to the Associated Press. However, a DNA sample from Trump is still being sought.
Deposition refers to a sworn out-of-court witness testimony used to gather information. Kaplan announced the decision not to seek Trump’s deposition in Manhattan federal court and later told reporters the decision was made to prevent delays.
“We want the case to go forward,” she said. Kaplan said she would be “more than perfectly happy” to question Trump at trial, which she estimates could occur in around six months after some legal obstacles are cleared.
“It’s surprising,” said attorney Alina Habba, who represented Trump at the hearing. She also said that a DNA sample has not been demanded.
Contrary to this, Kaplan said a DNA sample was requested after the case was first filed in state court. She said the demand still exists.
Carroll, now in her 70s, wrote the “Ask E. Jean” advice column for Elle Magazine from 1993 through 2019. In her memoir Carroll wrote accounts of being harassed and mistreated by men, including an allegation that Trump raped her in 1995 or 1996 while in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.
Trump denied the allegations and questioned Carroll’s credibility in a statement from his White House press office, comments in an Oval Office interview and statements to the media as he boarded a helicopter for Camp David, said the AP.
“I’ve never met this person in my life,” said Trump in a statement, refuted by a photograph published in New York Magazine that showed the two together at a 1987 party.
This week, Carroll told reporters outside court that she was looking forward to the trial on behalf of all women “who have been grabbed and groped, assaulted and raped by men in power and are silenced.”
Carroll also said she would “never settle, never.”
Trump has requested that the U.S. take his place as defendant in the defamation lawsuit and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule on that request. The U.S. Justice Department asserted that Trump cannot be held personally liable for “crude and disrespectful” remarks he made about Carroll since they were made as he was carrying out his duties as president.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over Tuesday’s hearing, has already ruled that Trump cannot use a law protecting federal employees from being sued individually for things they do within the scope of their employment. The judge also rejected a request by Trump’s attorneys that the progression of the lawsuit, including depositions, be delayed until the 2nd Circuit rules on whether Trump can be replaced as the defendant.
“Today the court heard arguments on Donald J. Trump’s latest, meritless effort to delay E. Jean Carroll’s quest to show the world the truth,” said Roberta Kaplan in a statement provided to Audacy. “We are grateful to Judge Kaplan for his respectful consideration of the issues and look forward to proving our case at trial.”
“I question whether you have the right to do what you want to do,” the judge said Tuesday regarding arguments from Trump’s legal team that they should be able to countersue Carroll.
“This is about principle,” said Carroll. “It’s about a powerful man assaulting and raping a woman and then getting away with it. That's not right.”
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