What we know about Trump’s scheduled deposition Wednesday in defamation case

Former President Trump is scheduled to be deposed Wednesday in a defamation case brought by a woman who has accused the former president of raping her in the 1990s, after a federal judge rejected his latest effort to delay last week.

Here’s what we know so far:

Trump has repeatedly sought to delay

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, in Waukesha, Wis. (Associated Press)

Trump has repeatedly sought to delay the defamation case since its inception. It has been nearly three years since writer E. Jean Carroll sued the former president for defamation in November 2019 for denying her rape allegations and accusing her of lying. 

Trump immediately sought to dismiss the defamation suit but was rejected by a New York state judge. His attorney then asked the court to delay the case while a separate defamation case against Trump proceeded. The court again rejected Trump’s request.

In September 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to take over the case, claiming that Trump was a government employee and his statements about Carroll were made in his official capacity as president. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected the DOJ’s effort to intervene and moved the case forward in late 2020.

The Justice Department appealed the ruling and asked the court to delay the defamation case while it appealed. The case sat on hold for nearly a year before Kaplan denied Trump’s request for a delay in September 2021 and began moving the case forward again.

In March 2022, Kaplan also rejected Trump’s attempt to countersue Carroll, dismissing it as “bad-faith” litigation.

Earlier this month, Carroll’s attorneys told the court that they were seeking Trump’s deposition on Oct. 19, arguing that it was a “more practical” way to get information than documents. Days later, Trump again asked for a delay in the case, including his deposition.

Kaplan rejected Trump’s request to delay again on Wednesday, setting the former president up to be deposed this week. Kaplan noted in Wednesday’s ruling that “Mr. Trump has litigated this case since it began in 2019 with the effect and probably the purpose of delaying it.”

Trump has seen some success on appeal

Trump has seen some success on the status of the case against him brought about by E. Jean Carroll. (Getty)

As the initial lawsuit has proceeded at the district court level, Trump’s legal team has seen some success on its appeal to have the Justice Department take over the lawsuit.

A federal appeals court in New York ruled late last month that presidents are government employees and can receive immunity for claims arising from their official duties.

However, the appeals court asked the Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals to rule on whether Trump was acting outside the scope of his presidential duties when he allegedly defamed Carroll. This second issue is key to determining whether the U.S. government could replace Trump as the defendant in the case.

Trump avoided deposition in similar case 

Trump’s legal team followed a similar playbook in Summer Zervos’ case as they have with Carroll’s. (Getty)

After battling Trump for almost five years on similar allegations, former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos ended her defamation lawsuit against Trump in November 2021, with neither side receiving monetary compensation. Just one month earlier, it had seemed possible that Trump would be forced to sit for a deposition.

Zervos initially filed the defamation suit against Trump in January 2017, after the former president denied her allegations that he kissed and groped Zervos without her consent while she was a contestant on his show in 2007.

Trump’s legal team followed a similar playbook, making numerous attempts to dismiss or delay the defamation case. After Trump left the White House in 2021, the case appeared poised to move forward, with the likelihood of a deposition looming. 

However, Zervos dropped the lawsuit several months later, without much explanation. Her lawyer simply said in a statement that Zervos “no longer wishes to litigate” against Trump and “has secured the right to speak freely about her experience.”