Donald Trump defends infamous 'grab them by the p***y' comments during ... trends now
Donald Trump defended his lewd comments in the infamous Access Hollywood tape and said they were 'true' in a taped deposition taken by rape accuser E. Jean Carroll's lawyers.
The former president said that when he claimed he could grab women 'by the p***y' in a 2005 exchange with host Billy Bush that it was 'true of [all] stars.'
Asked in his deposition if Trump considered himself a star, he said: 'Yeah.'
The comments became public just days before the 2016 election and at the time Trump insisted what he said was just 'locker room talk.'
The 45-minute deposition was played in court Thursday as part of the civil battery case brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who claims Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in 1996.
The deposition was filmed in October last year and showed Trump sitting at a desk wearing a dark suit and a light blue tie. He appears bored and dismissive of the proceedings, rarely smiling when questioned by Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan, who is off screen.
Donald Trump said in a video deposition played at his rape trial that the lewd comments he made in infamous Access Hollywood tape were true
Trump has been in Scotland and Ireland all week visiting his golf courses, but said Thursday he would appear at the trial
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Carroll is also suing for defamation after Trump called her a liar on social media and in official statements while he was president.
Trump told reporters on while in Ireland Thursday, '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.'
Then he was asked if he will attend Carroll's trial.
'I probably will and i think it's a disgrace,' he said.
'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.'
His lawyer Joe Tacopina however cast doubt on Trump appearing at the court proceedings.
He simply said 'no' when asked to confirm Trump's travel plans.
Tacopina had also previously told the court that the defense would not bring any witnesses – shutting down the possibility that Trump would appear on the stand to refute Carroll's allegations.
E Jean Carroll claims that Trump, 76, raped her in the dressing room of the lingerie department of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York in the mid 1990s
The 45-minute deposition was played as part of the civil battery case brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll at the court in New York
Protestors are seen outside of the trial with signs against Trump
Trump was shown the Access Hollywood tape, which was filmed in 2005 and showed him on a hot mic with Billy Bush.
Trump looked away briefly when he was heard remarking that because he was famous he could 'grab 'em by the p***y', referring to women he met.
Kaplan asked what Trump meant by that remark. He said: 'Historically that's been true of the stars.'
Kaplan pressed him again and Trump said, 'If you look at the last million years that's been largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately'.
Kaplan asked if Trump considered himself to be a star. He replied: 'I think I can say that, yeah'.
Kaplan asked if Trump's previous claim that his remarks were 'locker room talk' meant it wasn't true.
Trump dodged and said, 'It's locker room talk, it's the way people talk.'
During the deposition Trump bristled repeatedly and became irate at the questioning.
He insulted Carroll and claimed her 'big claim to fame' was meeting him several years before the alleged rape when the
