The refusal of failed former president Donald Trump to appear or testify in the defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll is already looking like an enormous mistake, according to a legal expert.
Legal analyst and defense attorney Danny Cevallos was asked by MSNBC host Katy Tur:
“Let me ask you about what the defense started with, the CNN interview where she talks about not calling it rape because rape can be a fantasy for some people,” host Katy Tur cited. “Donald Trump was asked about this in his video deposition again, Donald Trump has not testified, but he did give a video deposition, and he said to that question.”
“She actually indicated that she loved it, okay?” Trump said. “I think she said it was sexy. Didn’t she said it was very sexy to be raped?”
“Oh, gosh, go through that for me, Danny,” Tur added. “What is he saying here? Is he admitting to this? How significant is that?”
Cevallos responded, “This is particularly devastating for Trump as a civil defendant here is that because we believe he’s choosing not to appear — assuming he does not appear. The plaintiff will be permitted to play that into evidence. He won’t be able to get on the stand and say: ‘This is taken out of context. What I meant is that’s what she’s saying. That’s her story.’ Which I’m sure is what he would say, were he on the stand. That’s the challenge people don’t realize. Depositions can make or break a case. If you say something out of context, that’s locked in granite and is going to come back to bite you.”
Since Trump says he won’t testify, he can’t rebut his previous comments about how he thought Carroll enjoyed being raped. The very fact that he said that in a sworn deposition suggests that he did indeed admit to the attack.
Of course, the other danger for Trump is that if he does show up and testify, he’s likely to lie like a rug and open himself up to perjury charges. He’s in a no-win situation because of his past bragging.
Big mouth Trump is about to pay one hell of a price for all of his bullshit.
