Prosecutors in Trump's N.Y. criminal case can have his E. Jean Carroll deposition, judge rules
A federal judge ruled Thursday that attorneys for the writer E. Jean Carroll can give Manhattan prosecutors a recording of a deposition of former President Donald Trump.
The prosecutors for the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg are preparing for a March trial in a felony case in which Trump is charged with falsifying business records, and they say the deposition includes material relating to their case.
The lengthy videotaped interview of Trump was recorded in October 2022. In it, he answered questions under oath from attorneys representing Carroll in her lawsuit accusing him of rape and defamation. Portions of the deposition were played at the trial this spring. On May 9, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll.
Prosecutors from the D.A.'s office said in a court filing that questions he answered in the deposition related to the "Access Hollywood" tape made public in October 2016, just before the presidential election, "features prominently in the People's case."
They also indicated "a number of subject matters" covered in the deposition are relevant to the criminal case, in which Trump has entered a not guilty plea to 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. The charges relate to a payment his former attorney made to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.
A subpoena for the deposition was conditionally approved in July by New York judge Juan Merchan, who instructed prosecutors to ask the federal judge who oversaw the Carroll civil trial to sign off.
That judge, Lewis Kaplan, did so Thursday, scrawling in pen his one-sentence order on a letter submitted by the Manhattan D.A.
A spokesperson for the D.A.'s office did not reply to a request for comment. Attorneys for Trump and Carroll declined to comment.
The Manhattan criminal case is scheduled to go to trial in March. Less than two months later, Trump is scheduled to be in federal court in Florida for another trial on 40 felony counts related to alleged "willful retention" of classified documents after he left the White House. He has entered a not guilty plea in that case.
On Thursday, Trump also entered a not guilty plea in a federal court in Washington, D.C., where he is facing four felony charges related to his alleged efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. An initial trial date in that case is expected to be set at a hearing on Aug. 28.