New York, May 6 (AP) A video recording of former President Donald Trump being questioned about rape allegations was made public for the first time Friday, giving a glimpse of the Republican’s forceful, often colorful rebuttal. Jurors got to see video of Trump’s October 2022 statement over the past few days against him by advice columnist E.
Jean Carroll. The written transcript of Trump’s testimony had previously been made public, but not the recording itself. The video was made available Friday to news organizations covering the proceedings.
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In the video, Trump is seen answering questions in his trademark navy suit and bright blue tie. He called Carroll’s claim that he raped her in a luxury Manhattan department store “false, despicable lies.”
Trump said, “It’s a shame. Frankly, it’s a shame that something like this could be brought up.”
Trump repeated his claim that Carroll was “not my type”, but also mistook her for his second wife, Marla Maples, when shown a photo of Carroll and her then-husband meeting at an event in the 1980s.
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Trump was also asked about the infamous “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump bragged about grabbing women’s genitals. He said, as he has done before, that he was engaging in “locker room talk”. Trump justified his comments about famous people being able to have their way with women, saying: “Historically that’s true with stars.”
All planned testimony in the trial ended on Thursday, clearing the way for closing arguments by lawyers to be held on Monday, barring a last-minute decision by Trump to testify.