NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump’s petition in a defamation lawsuit filed after author E. Jean Carroll denied raping her his testimony.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that, contrary to his claims in legal filings, having Trump testify in the case would not impose an “undue burden” on him.
Carroll sued Trump in November 2019, five months after she denied raping her in the mid-1990s. In denying the allegations, Trump said at the time that Carroll was “not my type.”
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Trump’s lawyers also argued that he was protected from Carroll’s lawsuit by a federal law that shields government employees from defamation charges.
The case has been on hold as a Washington, D.C.-based federal appeals court decides whether Trump was acting in the president’s official capacity when he called Carroll a liar.
“We are pleased that Judge Kaplan agreed with our position not to reserve discovery in this case,” Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement.
Trump accused Carroll of fabricating the original allegations and said the court should dismiss the lawsuit.
“At the same time, it is for the record that E. Jean Carroll is not telling the truth, that she is a woman I have nothing to do with, do not know, and have no interest in getting to know her if I had the opportunity and no interest in getting to know her,” Trump said in a statement.
“We look forward to demonstrating on the record that this case is, and always has been, completely unfounded,” Trump attorney Alina Haba said in a statement.
Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, has said she also plans to sue Trump on Nov. 1. 24 batteries and causing emotional distress.
On that day, a recently enacted law in New York state gave victims of sexual misconduct a one-year window to file lawsuits for alleged sexual misconduct even after the statute of limitations has expired.
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Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio and Stephen Coates
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