Enlarge image
Donald Trump is in trouble with the judiciary again
Photo:
BRIAN SNYDER / REUTERS
Former US President Donald Trump is to testify after a court order in a lawsuit in connection with an allegation of rape.
A judge in New York rejected an attempt by Trump to postpone the testimony scheduled for next Wednesday.
According to court documents, this would not constitute "an undue burden" for the 76-year-old.
The case involves a defamation lawsuit brought by author Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her 23 years earlier in 2019.
Trump responded, among other things, with the words: "She's not my type." He further explained that he had never met Carroll.
She's just trying to sell her new book and has accused other men of similar things.
Enlarge image
Jean Carroll (here in February 2022 in New York)
Photo: Larry Neumeister/AP
Carroll accused Trump in the defamation lawsuit of damaging her reputation with his comments.
She had made the allegation in New York Magazine and later detailed it.
In a book excerpt published in the summer of 2019, Carroll wrote that Trump raped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s.
Trump has been mired in legal battles for decades, both as a construction mogul and during and after his presidency.
And he has repeatedly been accused of assaulting women.
So far, none of these allegations have had consequences for the Republican.
At the moment, however, he is struggling with legal problems or investigations on a particularly large number of fronts:
Civil lawsuit in New York:
In September, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a broad civil lawsuit alleging fraud, including against Trump, his company, and their three children, Donald Junior, Eric, and Ivanka.
They are said to have manipulated the goodwill of the Trump Organization on a large scale and for years.
Criminal Investigations in New York:
A criminal investigation is also ongoing in New York regarding the business practices of the Trump Organization.
She is accused of having systematically evaded taxes for at least 15 years.
The group denies that.
FBI search:
Trump could be particularly dangerous when investigating secret government documents from his tenure.
The federal police FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in August – the process is considered unprecedented.
Dispute over tax records:
The Treasury Committee of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has long been fighting to get Trump's tax records.
Contrary to political practice, Trump did not make his tax return public either as a presidential candidate or after moving into the White House.
Investigation in Georgia:
Prosecutor Fani Willis in Fulton County in the US state of Georgia opened an investigation in the context of the 2020 presidential election last year.
The background is a phone call between Trump and Georgia's chief election supervisor, Brad Raffensperger.
During the conversation, Trump asked him to "find" the missing votes in order to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's narrow election victory in the state.
Storming the Capitol:
After an incendiary Trump speech, Republican supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
They wanted to prevent Congress from making Biden's election victory official.
A committee of inquiry in Congress is working on the attack – the next public meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
Various witnesses have already heavily burdened Trump with their statements.
Above all, the investigations into the documents in Mar-a-Lago are politically sensitive.
On the one hand, this is due to Trump's possible renewed candidacy for the presidency and, on the other hand, to the midterm elections this November.
The Justice Department could be accused of conducting any investigations against Trump for political reasons.
The first Republican candidates had deleted references to Trump from their online presence after the allegations became known.
hba/dpa
