Donald Trump mistook his rape accuser for his ex-wife Marla Maples in testimony before jurors in his civil case.
Attorneys for E Jean Carroll have released part of the former president’s interview in which he falsely points to an image of his rape accuser and claims it is his wife.
In the footage, Trump is shown a photo of himself addressing a group at an event, and is asked who the others in the video are.
He replies, “I don’t even know who the woman is – it’s Marla. That’s Marla, yes. That’s my wife.’
But he is then corrected by his lawyer who says ‘it’s Carrol’ before going on to say that the photo is ‘very blurry’.
Lawyers for E Jean Carroll (circled) have released part of the former president’s interview in which he falsely points to an image of his rape accuser and claims it is his wife
The photo shows Trump in a late 1980s photo of him with his then-wife Ivana, Carroll, and her husband John Johnson.
Carroll, 79, has accused the former president, 76, of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.
Trump has vehemently denied the allegations and has yet to attend the civil trial after two weeks of testimony in Manhattan.
Lawyers for the American journalist claim Trump’s confusion over the photo undermines his previous comments that Carroll is “not his type” – something he has repeated since she made the claims in 2019.
Jurors in the federal civil trial watched the statement video in which Trump repeated his claim about Carroll’s appearance and insisted that the allegations were fabricated.
He said, ‘I say with as much respect as I can, but she’s not my type. In no way shape or form my type.”
Trump later told Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan that he wouldn’t be “interested” in her either.
He said, “You wouldn’t be my choice either, to be honest, I hope you’re not offended.”
Donald Trump mistook his rape accuser for his ex-wife Marla Maples (with Trump leaving in 1991) in statement played to jurors in his civil case
In the footage, Trump is shown a photo of himself speaking to a group at an event, and is asked who the others in the video are.
Photographed in the 1990s, Carroll told jurors that after the alleged assault, she was “never able to lead a romantic life again.”
It also shows Trump calling her attorney a “political agent” and a “disgrace.”
Trump suggested he come back from a golf trip in Ireland to “confront” Carroll in court, saying, “I’m going back early because a woman made a claim that’s totally false, it’s bogus.”
But his attorney Joseph Tacopina told the judge he would not testify in court, or call witnesses on his behalf.
The judge ruled that Trump would have until Sunday afternoon to decide, explaining that after that “the ship has irrevocably set sail.”
During the interview, nine members of the jury were shown the witness statements, which were filmed last October and show the 2024 hopeful becoming combative.
Speaking of the alleged incident, he said: “If it happened, it would have been reported within minutes,” before suggesting that others in the “very busy store” may have heard an ongoing attack.
Carroll told jurors that after the alleged assault, she was “unable to ever have a romantic life again.”
Carroll, 79, has accused the former president, 76, of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.
Stoynoff, a New York Times best-selling author, told the court she was on assignment for People magazine at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the attack and regularly reported on the Trumps.
Her account was supported in court by her friend, Lisa Birnbach, who testified that she received a call from Ms. Carroll minutes after she said she had been raped.
Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff were also called by Carroll’s team, describing alleged sexual assaults committed by Trump – claims he has denied.
Natasha Stoynoff cried as she told the court how Trump pushed and kissed her against a wall at Mar-a-Lago in 2005.
Stoynoff said that after a butler walked in, they went back to the photoshoot where Trump promised to take her for a steak dinner and give her the “best sex you’ll ever have.”
She cried as she told the Manhattan jury that the story was to celebrate the first anniversary of Trump and Melania’s wedding.
During a break between photo shoots when Melania changed, Trump said he wanted to show her a “really awesome room” and led her to another part of the building.
At the time, Melania was pregnant with their son Barron, who is now 17.
Stoynoff cried when she told the Manhattan jury she was at Mar-a-Lago writing a story celebrating the first anniversary of Trump and Melania’s wedding
The jury was shown the infamous Access Hollywood tape released just before the 2016 election of Trump boasting about groping women on a hot microphone
Stoynoff, who got emotional for the second time, told the jury, “I think wow, really nice room and I hear the door close behind me.
“By the time I turned around he had his hands on my shoulder and was pushing me against the wall and kissing me. I tried to push him away.
“He came back to me and I tried to push him again. He was kissing me. He was against me, just held my shoulder back.
‘I didn’t say any words. I was shocked. No words came out of my mouth. I remember a little mumbling.’
A butler came in and said Melania had finished changing and ready to resume the photoshoot and Trump left.
Stoynoff said she gave the butler a “get me out of here” look and felt he understood what she meant.
But back at the pool, Trump told her, “Oh, you know we’re going to have an affair. Don’t forget what Marla said,” referring to his second wife, Marla Maples.
Several images of Carroll as a beauty queen were released as part of the statement, after several documents were shown to the jury
Bergdorf Goodman (above) is just a block from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue
“Best sex I’ve ever had,” Trump added, referring to an infamous cover page about Maples.
She didn’t tell her senior bosses because she felt “embarrassed and humiliated” and didn’t want to cause trouble for the magazine, but she asked that she never write about Trump again and her editors obliged.
Jessica Leeds, 81, claims Trump touched and kissed her on a flight from Texas to New York in 1979.
She told the jury it felt like he had “countless hands” when he put his hand up her skirt until she fended it off.
Trump got a copy of Carroll’s 2019 memoir where she first accused him, flipped through it with disdain, and looked bored.
He was read a number of statements he made in 2019 denying Carroll’s story and asked if he stood by them today.
Trump said it was because the story was “the most ridiculous, disgusting story just made up.”
Carroll was able to bring the civil suit against Mr. Trump after New York passed the Adult Survivors Act in 2022, which allows victims to file sexual assault lawsuits for claims that normally exceeded legal limits.