- Trump's deposition video in the E. Jean Carroll case has been released.
- In it, Trump defended his "Access Hollywood" comments about grabbing women between the legs.
Former President Donald Trump has defended his infamous comments that were $4 on an "Access Hollywood" tape, in which he bragged to TV personality Billy Bush about kissing women and grabbing them by the genitals without their consent.
"Historically, that's true with stars," he said in a newly released video when asked about the 2005 tape. "If you look over the last million years, I guess that's been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately."
The clip quickly circulated on Twitter, including by the anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project.
—Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) $4
The new clip is part of a 48-minute $4 and was shown to jurors in Manhattan federal court on Thursday. Trump sat for the deposition in October for a rape and defamation lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll, which is expected to conclude next week following jury deliberations. The person in the video asking Trump about the comments is Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney.
In the "Access Hollywood" recording, Trump bragged about how women "let you" kiss them, saying stars "can do anything."
"I just start kissing them," he said. "It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait," he said.
"Grab them by the pussy," Trump continued. "You can do anything."
In the deposition video, Trump watches the tape, expressionless. Kaplan then asked Trump whether he considered himself to be a star. Trump replied, "I think you can say that, yeah."
—Jacob Shamsian ⚖️ (@JayShams) $4
The Washington Post was the first to publish the "Access Hollywood" tape a month before the 2016 election. At the time, Trump provided a statement to the newspaper that dismissed the comments as "locker-room banter" and "a private conversation," adding, "I apologize if anyone was offended." He later issued a $4, saying, "I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize."
The former president didn't display remorse in the latest video.
Carroll, who was a magazine columnist at Elle and a talk show host, $4 in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan sometime in the spring of 1996. She first went public about the incident in 2019, and Trump called her a liar.
Trump has denied ever meeting Carroll, but a photo she submitted in the lawsuit shows the two together at a party in 1987.
The video has been $4 and shown in Manhattan federal court. Lawyers for Carroll shared the video with journalists on Friday.
Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina $4 and rested the defense case on Thursday afternoon $4. The judge gave Trump's legal team until 5 p.m. Sunday to file a motion asking to reopen the case if Trump changes his mind.
If Trump doesn't appear — as he hasn't during the entire trial — closing arguments are scheduled for Monday, with jury deliberations to begin on Tuesday morning.