Former President Donald Trump unleashed a slew of insults against writer E. Jean Carroll when he was deposed in her civil suit accusing him of rape, newly unsealed court filings show.
In an excerpt of the October deposition unsealed Friday by a federal court judge in New York, Trump angrily denied Carroll's allegation that he attacked her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, saying she was a "whack job" who's "not my type."
Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the excerpt be made public after denying Trump's motion to dismiss the lawsuit earlier in the day.
Trump, who plans to host his initial 2024 campaign event later this month, had argued that a recent New York law allowing victims of sexual assault a one-year window to file civil claims that would otherwise be time-barred was in violation of the state constitution. Kaplan sided with Carroll's lawyers, who have used the law as the basis for the suit.
During the lengthy deposition, Trump was asked about a post he wrote on Truth Social shortly before his testimony claiming that Carroll's story was "a hoax." Trump said he wrote it himself because "I was offended at this woman's lie."
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, then asked him about writing in the post that Carroll said Trump had "swooned her" inside the store. Trump said he was referring to "an act that she said happened, which didn't happen. And it's nicer than the word that starts with F."
"I thought it would be inappropriate to use the other word," he added.
Asked again about the word swoon, which Kaplan defined as “to faint with extreme emotion,” Trump said, “Well, sort of that’s what she said I did to her.
“She fainted with great emotion. She actually indicated that she loved it, okay? She loved it until commercial break. 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?” Trump continued, before indicating he was referring to Carroll's 2019 interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper.
In that interview, Carroll said that what Trump did to her "hurt" and was "not sexual." When Cooper said that most people think of rape as a violent assault, she responded, “Most people think of rape as sexy. Think of the fantasies.” She said she preferred the word "fight."
Kaplan declined to comment on the deposition transcript.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba said, “While it was entirely unnecessary for the unsealing of a transcript both parties previously agreed would remain confidential, our client has nothing to hide and looks forward to resolving this meritless case.”
Earlier in the day, Kaplan praised the judge’s ruling allowing the suit to proceed, and said, “We look forward to trial in April.”
Habba said she was "disappointed" by the ruling. "We intend to immediately appeal the order and continue to advocate for our client’s constitutionally protected rights,” she said.
The advancing lawsuit added to Trump's legal woes on the same day the Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million for a long-running tax fraud scheme. Trump is also the focus of a special counsel investigation focused on his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home and “key aspects” of the investigation into his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
