Yahoo Finance Trump said he 'can't think of any complaints' when asked if he ever forcibly kissed a woman; 26 have accused him of sexual misconduct
Excerpts of Donald Trump's deposition were released Friday in E. Jean Carroll's defamation case.
Asked whether he'd ever forcibly kissed a woman, Trump said he "can't think of any complaints."
Trump has faced at least 26 sexual-misconduct claims going back decades; he's issued broad denials.
Donald Trump was asked by a lawyer for his rape accuser E. Jean Carroll whether he'd ever forcibly kissed a woman, according to newly unsealed court documents.
The former president said he was unaware of any "complaints," according to newly released excerpts from his October deposition in Carroll's ongoing defamation lawsuit.
The answer was surprising because at least 26 women have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault, in claims dating as far back as the 1970s.
Trump was also caught on the infamous 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape bragging about grabbing and kissing women without their consent.
Trump has repeatedly denied any accusations of sexual assault, calling Carroll and others liars; he has brushed off his comments in the "Access Hollywood" tape as "locker-room banter."
"Have you ever kissed a woman without her consent?" Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, asked Trump during the October 19 sworn deposition, which he taped from Mar-a-Lago.
"Well, I don't — I can't think of any complaints," Trump answered, according to the transcript unsealed Friday.
"But no. I mean, I don't think so," he said.
Then he continued: "I think it's an inappropriate question, but I don't think so."
Carroll sued Trump in federal court in Manhattan in November 2019, after he publicly denied her accusation that he'd raped her, calling her a liar and saying she was "not my type."
A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, is weighing whether Carroll's lawsuit can proceed.
The longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine had come forward earlier in 2019 with a memoir and a front-page New York magazine story alleging that Trump, who'd recognized her from her TV appearances, had chatted her up at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-'90s.
She said he forced himself on her in a dressing room. While she never approached the police with the allegation, she did immediately tell friends. Carroll's legal team has requested a sample of Trump's DNA with the hope of comparing it to a sample from the dress Carroll says she wore that day.
Carroll filed a second lawsuit against Trump in November, adding an accusation of battery under New York's new Adult Survivors Act.
Trump's attorney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Correction: January 16, 2023 — An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the claims Donald Trump has faced. At least 26 women have accused him of sexual misconduct including harassment. Not all 26 women have accused him of sexual assault.
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