Trump answers questions over alleged rape of journalist

Former US President Donald Trump yesterday answered questions under oath about the alleged rape of a journalist in the mid-1990s.

The US journalist, author, and columnist, Elizabeth Jean Carroll, alleges she was raped in the Bergdorf Goodman luxury department store in New York in the mid-1990s. Carroll discusses the reported assault in her book, What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal, when she was 52 and Trump was 50.

The writer said that she bumped into Trump in the store and spoke with him. They joked about trying on lingerie before eventually going into a dressing room together, where Carroll said that Trump forcefully kissed her, pulled down her tights and raped her. She stated that the alleged incident lasted less than three minutes

Trump denied the claim and said Carroll was lying, prompting her to sue him for defamation.

Carroll’s attorneys, Kaplan Hecker & Fink, did not release details of the deposition but added that a civil trial in the case is scheduled for February 6 next year.

“We’re pleased that on behalf of our client, E Jean Carroll, we were able to take Donald Trump’s deposition today. We are not able to comment further.”

Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said her client was pleased to set the record straight.

“This case is nothing more than a political ploy like many others in the long list of witch hunts against Donald Trump.”

CNN reported the former US President gave his deposition from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump dismissed the rape allegation saying Carroll was lying to sell her book. Carroll then countered with a defamation lawsuit against Trump while he was US President, adding his comments had harmed her reputation.

Several women in the past have alleged Trump sexually assaulted them which he has denied.

Carroll’s lawyers revealed that she also intends to sue Trump a second time under a new law that gives adult sexual assault victims a one-time opportunity to file civil lawsuits even if the statute of limitations has expired.

Her attorney said she plans to file the new lawsuit on November 24.

Carroll’s case is just one of a number of legal challenges facing the 76 year old Trump.

The former US President is facing fraud charges by New York prosecutors, who filed a lawsuit against him in September, and he is being investigated by the Department of Justice for removing allegedly classified government documents from the White House and storing them at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump denies any wrongdoing in all cases.