Donald Trump said his infamous comments in the “Access Hollywood” tape about having the license to grope women when you’re famous were “historically” accurate in footage of his combative deposition in E. Jean Carroll’s case, released to the public Friday.
Asked about his outrageous comments in the widely-watched video under oath in October, the former president said, “Historically, that’s true with stars.”
“It’s true with stars that — that they can grab women by the pussy?” Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan then asked.
“If you look over the last million years, I guess that’s been largely true,” Trump said. “Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately.”
“And you consider yourself to be a star?” Carroll’s lawyer asked.
“I think you can say that, yeah,” Trump said.
The back-and-forth was included in a 48-minute videotaped deposition played to jurors this week at Trump’s civil rape trial in Manhattan federal court, in which he calls Carroll a “nut job.” The court permitted its release to the public following requests by media organizations, including the Daily News.
During the sit-down, Trump misquoted Carroll’s interview on CNN in 2019 when she told Anderson Cooper she refrained from describing the alleged encounter with Trump as “rape.”
“She actually indicated that she ‘loved it,’ okay? She loved it. Until a commercial break. In fact, I think she said it was ‘sexy,’ didn’t she? It was very sexy to be raped,” Trump said.
“So sir, I just want to confirm, it’s your testimony that E. Jean Carroll said that she loved being sexually assaulted by you?” Kaplan then asked.
“Well, based on her interview with Anderson Cooper, I believe that’s what took place.”
Carroll testified on Monday that she was making a point to Cooper about rape culture and the glamorization of sexual assault in entertainment.
“I just say it’s a ‘fight.’ That way, I’m not the victim,” Carroll testified.
During the deposition, Kaplan presented Trump with a photograph of him and Carroll laughing at a party in the late 1980s, and he misidentified her as his ex-wife Marla Maples. His then-wife, Ivana, is also in the picture.
“You’re saying that’s Marla?” Kaplan asked.
“That’s Marla, yeah. That’s my wife,” Trump replied, holding a copy of the photo.
“That’s Carroll,” Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba interrupts.
Trump, who has said Carroll wasn’t his type, says a few moments later that the hi-resolution black and white image is “very blurry.”
Carroll, 79, is suing Trump for sexual battery and defamation claims for the alleged assault she said happened on an unoccupied floor of Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Ave. in the mid-1990s after they ran into each other, and he invited her shopping. She says he defamed her when she spoke out when he was president and in the following years.
During his deposition, Trump doubled down on his statements, calling Carroll a “liar” and “mentally sick.”
“This ridiculous situation that we’re doing right now. It’s a big, fat hoax. She’s a liar and she’s a sick person in my opinion. Really sick. Something wrong with her,” Trump said.
“In addition to the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, the Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, hoax, the Mueller or Mueller hoax, the lying to FISA hoax, the lying to Congress hoax, and the spying on your campaign hoax, isn’t it true that you also referred to the use of mail-in ballots as a hoax?” Kaplan then asked.
“Yeah, I do. Sure,” Trump replied.
When Kaplan asked Trump about saying Carroll and other women who have accused him of sexual assault weren’t his “type,” Trump told the lawyer he wasn’t attracted to her.
“You wouldn’t be a choice of mine either, to be honest,” Trump said in the video, defending his comments in the “Access Hollywood” tape as locker room talk.
Trump’s defense team has argued that Carroll and two friends, who testified that she confided in them about the assault, fabricated it to sell a book and destroy him politically.
Both parties rested their cases Thursday, with Carroll’s side calling 11 witnesses and Trump calling none.
The Republican presidential candidate hasn’t attended any of the trial. But he told reporters in Ireland on Thursday that he was cutting his trip short to come back and “confront” Carroll, unbeknownst to his lawyer.
Upon learning of the remarks, Judge Lewis Kaplan extended a courtesy to Trump, giving him three days to decide whether to take the witness stand to defend himself. He has until 5 p.m. Sunday.
The jury is expected to hear closing arguments early next week and begin deliberating the case shortly after.
The rape trial is one of three major cases he faces in his hometown, along with probes in Washington, D.C., and Georgia into his possession of classified documents and efforts to subvert the 2020 election. He denies all wrongdoing.
