Trump mistook photo of E. Jean Carroll for his ex-wife during deposition in rape lawsuit

Former President Donald Trump mistook E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused him of rape, for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo he was shown during a deposition, newly unsealed court documents show.

An excerpt from October. declaration released by a federal court on Wednesday includes an exchange in which Carroll’s attorney asked Trump about a black-and-white photograph showing a small group of people, including Trump and Carroll.

«That’s Marla, yes. That’s my wife,» Trump said, referring to Maples.

Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, corrected the error during the deposition, saying, «No, that’s Carroll.»

Trump’s comments under oath threaten to undermine his repeated denials of Carroll’s allegations, claiming that she is «not my type

Trump was married to Maples from 1993 to 1999. Carroll, 79, has alleged that Trump attacked her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s.

NBC News has reached out to Habba for comment.

Maples, 59, was the second of three Trump wives; the former couple had a child together, Tiffany Trump. In 2005 she married Melania Trump.

The partial release of the statement comes a week after Trump, who launched a 2024 presidential bid, requested that a federal judge dismiss Carroll’s lawsuit. Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Trump’s request and ordered that parts of the declaration go public.

In the above excerpt, Trump denied the allegations against him and repeatedly insulted Carroll, calling her a «nutty» who is «not my type.»

The case is expected to go to trial in April.

dareh gregorian contributed.