Donald Trump Slams Rape Accuser After Being Ordered to Testify in Defamation Suit

The former president, who is being sued by E. Jean Carroll for defamation after claiming she lied about being sexually assaulted, continued calling her a liar in a statement issued Wednesday

From left: E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump.

Hours after a federal judge ruled Donald Trump must sit for a deposition next week as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll — who claimed he raped her in the mid-1990s — the former president slammed his accuser in a string of online posts.

"I don't know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event," Trump said in a statement posted to his social media site, Truth Social.

Trump's statement continued: "She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, 'swooned' her. It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years."

The statement included a photo of Carroll, a former Elle advice columnist and TV host who has claimed that Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York City department store dressing room.

Carroll, now 78, went public with her account of assault in 2019, after which Trump said in an interview: "No. 1: She's not my type" and, further, that he had "never met this person in my life." (Trump and Carroll have been photographed together, though the former president has said that was an incidental moment.)

After Trump made the accusation that Carroll was "totally lying" about the rape on Twitter, claiming she made up the allegation in order to help sell her memoir, Carroll sued for defamation.

In her suit, Carroll argues that Trump's claims caused her "emotional pain and suffering" and damaged "her reputation, honor, and dignity" — and thus her career.

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that Trump must answer questions under oath as part of the lawsuit, with the deposition scheduled for Oct. 19.

"The defendant should not be permitted to run the clock out on [Carroll's] attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong," Kaplan said in the ruling ordering Trump to sit for a deposition.

In a statement sent to PEOPLE, Carroll's counsel Roberta Kaplan said, "We are pleased that Judge Kaplan agreed with our position not to stay discovery in this case. We look forward to filing our case under the Adult Survivors Act and moving forward to trial with all dispatch."

In response, Trump continued arguing he did not know Carroll in his statement, doubling down on the comments she sued him over in the first place.

"And, while I am not supposed to say it, I will," Trump said in his statement published Wednesday. "This woman is not my type! She has no idea what day, what week, what month, what year, or what decade this so-called 'event' supposedly took place. The reason she doesn't know is because it never happened, and she doesn't want to get caught up with details or facts that can be proven wrong."

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As some legal experts pointed out, it may not be in Trump's best interest to continue criticizing Carroll, considering his alleged defamation of her character is exactly what she's suing him for.

What's more, both the Trump- and Biden-backed Justice Departments have previously sought to defend the former president in the matter, as his comments about Carroll were made during the scope of the presidency.

Now more than a year out of office, Trump is no longer president and therefore new comments are no longer shielded by the same protections of the office.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.