Questioning about rape allegations
Trump confuses alleged victim with his ex-wife
Ex-US President Donald Trump confuses alleged rape victim in photo with his ex-wife. The error could decide a process.
Published: 6 minutes ago
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Updated: 1 minute ago
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Donald Trump makes a massive mistake while testifying in a rape interview.
Former US President Donald Trump (76) made a massive mistake when asked about rape allegations by columnist E. Jean Carroll (79).
When Trump was shown a photo from the 1990s, he mistook the pictured Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples, 59, according to a court document. In Trump’s own words, Carroll is not his “type” at all.
‘This is Marla, yes. This is my wife”
According to a released transcript of interviews by Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, last October, Trump said, “That’s Marla, yes. This is my wife.” Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba immediately intervened: “No, that’s Carroll.”
When questioned by Carroll’s attorney last October, Trump repeated several times that the columnist was not his “type.” But the fact that he mistook her for his ex-wife Maples could be used by Carroll’s attorney to question that defense strategy.
Trump was married to actress Maples from 1993 to 1999. Trump’s daughter Tiffany is from this marriage.
Allegation of rape in the 90s
Carroll, now 79, publicly accused then-President Trump in 2019 of raping her in a dressing room at the New York luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. Trump denied the allegations, saying the former Elle magazine columnist was “a total lie.”
Carroll sued Trump for defamation. In connection with that lawsuit, Trump was questioned under oath by attorney Kaplan last October at his luxury home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The transcript of the questioning has now been made public by the competent New York court.
Claim for damages possible
In November, Carroll also sued Trump for the alleged rape itself, which is actually statute-barred. This was made possible by a new law in the state of New York, according to which alleged rape victims can sue alleged perpetrators for damages regardless of the statute of limitations. (euc/AFP)