‘I swear on my children…’: Trump says he never met woman who accused him of rape

"I swear on my children, which I never do, I have no idea who this woman," said former US president Donald Trump during an interview after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation of writer E Jean Carroll.

File photo shows former US President Donald Trump (L) and E Jean Carroll (R)

Former US president Donald Trump on Wednesday, during an interview, said that he has never met the woman who a New York jury said he sexually assaulted in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

When asked about the verdict against him in a civil lawsuit suit brought by writer E Jean Carroll, Trump claimed that the charges by former Elle advice columnist were fabricated.

“This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is,” The Independent quoted Trump’s response to the query from moderator Kaitlan Collins during a town hall event hosted by CNN.

“I swear on my children, which I never do, I have no idea who this woman — this is a fake story, a made-up story,” retorted Trump.

During the interview, Trump also hit out at the federal judge who oversaw the case and said that he is “a horrible Clinton-appointed judge”.

“He allowed her to put everything in. He allowed us to put nothing,” he said.

Donald Trump on Tuesday was found liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E Jean Carroll in the 1990s, with the jury awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.

The jury also held Trump accused of defaming Carroll by branding her as a liar.

The former US President’s lawyer, Tacopina, told reporters Trump will re-appeal.

Carroll, 79, testified during the civil trial that Trump, 76, raped her at a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in either 1995 or 1996, then harmed her reputation by writing in an October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform that her claims were a “complete con job,” “a hoax” and “a lie.”

Following the judgment, Carroll, in a statement said, “Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”