Donald Trump threatens to ‘confront’ rape accuser as he slams ‘disgraceful’ claims | US | News
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Donald Trump threatened to confront the woman who has accused him of rape and said he would cut his Ireland trip short to do so.
Journalist E. Jean Carroll, 79, has alleged that the former president raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman hotel dressing room back in 1996.
Earlier this week, the 76-year-old appeared eager to leave Ireland and get over to New York as soon as possible.
He strongly denies the allegations which he has called “false” and has slammed the case against him as a “disgrace”.
When asked by reporters in Doonbeg on Thursday whether he will attend Carroll’s trial in New York, he responded: “I probably will and I think it’s a disgrace.
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“It’s a disgrace that it’s allowed to happen against a rich guy or in my case, against a famous, rich and political person that’s leading the polls by 40 points.
“And I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me, and I have a judge who is extremely hostile and I’m going to go back and I’m going to confront this.
“But this woman is a disgrace and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our country.”
However, Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina denied that the former president would “confront” Carroll when asked about the comments by Judge Lewis Kaplan.
Judge Lewis Kaplan said he would give Trump’s lawyers until 5pm on Sunday to confirm whether the former president would testify.
Carroll is suing the businessman for defamation and battery. She claims her reputation was “destroyed” by the former president’s snubbing of her claims as a “con job” in a Truth Social post in October 2022.
Trump’s lawyers were also warned last week by Judge Lewis Kaplan that he risked creating more legal troubles for himself after he slammed the lawsuit as a “scam” in a post on his Truth Social network.
Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff have also testified against Trump in the case and have alleged they were sexually assaulted by the former president.
This comes after Trump’s trip to the five-star hotel and golf course – Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, County Clare, Ireland. The ex-president was also in Scotland earlier this week.
Speaking in Ireland, Mr Trump described Judge Kaplan as a “rough judge”.
He said: “He doesn’t like me very much, he was appointed by Bill Clinton.”
Trump later added: “Because of that I have to leave Ireland and I have to leave Scotland where I have great properties, I have to leave early. I don’t have to but I choose to.”
Trump has not been in New York for the trial and his lawyers called no witnesses before resting their case on Thursday.
But the New York court released a video of a deposition given by Trump as part of the civil trial. The 48-minute video was shown to jurors on Thursday and was publicly released for the first time on Friday.
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