E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers used a critical moment from Trump’s deposition that might have lost the former president’s rape civil trial.
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Lisa Rubin of MSNBC reported:
When the plaintiff’s lawyers opened, that picture was the last thing that they showed the jury. They told the jury that they would hear from Trump in his own words that he had mistaken that picture of E. Jean Carroll for his wife — I’m sorry, his second wife, Marla Maples, who was just his type. No question, that’s extraordinarily powerful evidence.
I should also say that during that deposition, one of the things that I found powerful was when he was asked whether he owns the “Access Hollywood” statement about when you are a star they let you do it, he was asked, is that true? Rather than back away, he said, historically, for a million years, that’s been the case. Fortunately, or unfortunately. Then she asked the damaging follow-up. Is it fair to say that you are a star? He said, that’s fair to say. Yeah, when you are a star, they will let you do it. I’m a star.
In a couple of swoops, Trump destroyed the idea that E. Jean Carroll wasn’t his type by getting her confused with Marla Maples, and then he stood by his claim that being a star gave him an entitlement to sexually assault and rape women.
The jury got to hear Trump in his own words make these statements. That is a devastating act of self-incrimination which could easily cause him to lose the civil trial and lead to a jury concluding that he raped E. Jean Carroll.