In all, Trump spoke for less than a minute. He insisted that his previous recorded statement about the allegations was true and that he did not intend to harm her.
Former President Trump, in brief testimony Thursday in the defamation trial brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll, insisted that his previous recorded statement about the allegations was true and that he did not intend to harm her.
“100 percent,” he said when asked if he stood by his deposition in which he called Carroll a liar.
Asked by Alina Habba, his lawyer, if he ever instructed anyone to hurt Carroll, Trump said: “I just wanted to defend myself, my family and frankly, the presidency.”
Carroll sued Trump for calling her a liar when she accused him of sexually assaulting her. This is her second lawsuit against him.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has already ruled Trump is liable for defamation but a jury must decide how much he owes her.
Trump’s appearance in the New York courtroom comes just days after he won the New Hampshire primary and became the prohibitive GOP front-runner.
