A video of his testimony was made public

Sometimes brave, sometimes reluctant: This is how Donald Trump appears in a video of his testimony released on Thursday (May 4) to jurors in the civil trial in New York where the former US president is accused of rape. Made public on Friday, the video aired Many American media.

For forty-eight minutes, we see Donald Trump, wearing a blue tie and white shirt under a black jacket, defending himself and answering questions from plaintiff’s attorney and former magazine columnist Roberta Kaplan. she, e. John Carroll.

The former journalist, now 79, accused Donald Trump in a 2019 book of raping her in the underwear department of New York luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. He then sued for defamation. Then in November 2022 for rape in a civil action.

The Republican billionaire did not appear at the trial, which began last week. In his absence, excerpts from a video recorded of the proceedings in October 2022 were broadcast during the proceedings.

“It’s too vague”

“This is a very ridiculous, disgusting story. It’s a new discovery.”He gives assurances about the charges, e. Jean qualifies Carroll “liar” And “Sick”.

In his deposition, Donald Trump reiterated that he did not know the journalist and that he did not. “No [son] Gender “. But once the lawyer shows the photo in front of E. Gene Carroll confuses the plaintiff with his ex-wife Marla at a party, years before they allegedly met in 1996. Then his lawyer intervened: “This [E. Jean] Carol », she corrects him. Shocked at first, the former president later reassures: “It’s very vague. »

The former president was also called upon to respond to his comments in a video that has since gone viral, where he was heard bragging about kissing and touching women he liked in 2005, adding: “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the butt. »

“This is a historical fact about stars (…) If you look at the last few million years, I think that’s mostly true, not always, but mostly whether we moan or not.”He explains. “Do you consider yourself a star?”, the lawyer asks for E. John Carroll. “I think you can tell, yes.”He answers.

Following the trial, several journalists asked the chief justice on Thursday to make the video public, but the latter ruled that it was up to the parties to do so.