Trump must sit for deposition next week in defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll: Judge

Donald Trump will be impeached under oath in a libel suit filed by E. Jean Carroll, a writer who previously accused the ex-president of rape, a court ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has rejected Trump’s request to interrupt the Oct. 19 statement, in the latest legal blow he has faced since leaving office.

Trump’s attorney Alina Habba responded in a statement following the ruling: “We look forward to officially establishing that this case is completely groundless and always has been.”

Carroll wrote in her memoir that Trump raped her during a meeting in the mid-1990s at a Manhattan department store called Bergdorf Goodman.

She accused Trump of defaming her when he denied her claims and cast doubt on the credibility and motivation of the columnist who had been advising for years.

He told The Hill in 2019 that “she’s not my type” and suggested she whip up the rape allegation to sell her book.

Carroll’s attorney Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan told DailyMail.com of the judge’s decision: “We are pleased that Judge Kaplan agrees with our position not to delay the discovery in this case. We look forward to filing our case under the Adult Survivors Act and going to court as a matter of urgency.”

The judge focused on attempts by Trump’s lawyers to delay the trial, a legal tactic the ex-president was known to relied on during times of trouble during his past life as a real estate manager.

Donald Trump was accused of making defamatory statements about a woman who accused him of raping her in the 1990s, but Trump’s lawyers argue that he must be protected by a state statute that protects federal employees from defamation lawsuits

“The defendant should not be allowed to time the clock on the plaintiff’s attempt to obtain a remedy for what was allegedly a grave misconduct,” Kaplan said, according to the Associated Press.

He labeled Trump’s legal action in the case “unforgivable.”

“As this Court has previously noted, Mr. Trump has been litigating this case since its inception in 2019 with the effect and likely purpose of delaying it,” Kaplan ruled.

Trump’s attorneys have tried to protect him from the case using a rule designed to protect federal employees from defamation lawsuits when acting as part of their government duties.

A panel of three judges ruled last month that Trump, as president, was a federal employee with the right to use the statute.

They went to the Washington, DC appeals court to decide whether Trump’s alleged defamatory comments against Carroll fell within the scope of his presidency.

E. Jean Carroll and her then-husband John Johnson are pictured talking to Trump and his late ex-wife Ivana Trump in 1987

If the appeals court rules in Trump’s favour, the Biden administration could replace Trump as defendant in the lawsuit.

President Joe Biden’s Justice Department has continued to advocate for Trump’s stance that the administration should intervene.

Carroll’s attorney previously said she plans to sue Trump under the Adult Survivors Act, a law signed in May by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, which will take effect in November.

Under the new measure, adult survivors of sexual assault and rape will be given a year’s ‘review’ during which they can bring civil cases that would otherwise have expired outside the statute of limitations.

If he goes through with it, the October 19 statement will mark the second time this year Trump has had to speak for himself in a civil case.

He reportedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times when he was impeached in August by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James’ office sat down with Trump and his three oldest children for an investigation into their family empire’s business practices.

The Democratic official filed a lawsuit against all four plus the Trump organization in September, accusing them of knowingly using misleading financial statements.