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A U.S. District judge has ordered former President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Carroll claimed that she was raped by Trump in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump denied the allegations, which were made by Carroll in 2019, and defended himself by saying she is "not my type." He also claimed her allegations were motivated by a financial incentive to sell copies of her book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.
Shortly after Trump's comments, Carroll sued Trump, arguing that his remarks tarnished her reputation.
Trump's legal team has been trying to squash and delay the lawsuit, suggesting that Trump's comments were made as part of his job as president.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected Trump's request to further delay his deposition, scheduling it for October 19.
"Completing those depositions -- which already have been delayed for years -- would impose no undue burden on Mr. Trump," Judge Kaplan said. "The defendant should not be permitted to run the clock out on plaintiff's attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong."
The defamation trial could begin early next year.
Carroll is also planning to file a separate lawsuit against Trump under the Adult Survivors Act, a recently passed law in New York that eliminates the statute of limitations for claims of rape and sexual abuse.