Washington – President-elect Donald Trump has been ordered by a federal judge to submit a deposition next week in his defamation suit against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid issued the order Friday, saying Trump will have to testify in person next week as part of the lawsuit he filed against ABC News in March alleging Stephanopoulos made defamatory comments on air .
In a March 10 interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Stephanopoulos said Trump had been “held accountable for rape.”
Last year, a jury in New York declared Trump responsible for sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll and defame her with statements she made denying Carroll’s allegations. The judge hearing the case said the sexual abuse for which Trump was found responsible — forcibly penetrating Carroll with his fingers — is commonly understood as “rape”, although the statute defines it as a separate crime.
In his complaint, Trump accused Stephanopoulos of acting “with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth” and claimed that Stephanopoulos “knows these statements are patently and demonstrably false.”
Judge Reid said Trump’s deposition will be in person next week in the Southern District of Florida, where his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach is located. The questioning will be limited to four hours, Reid said.
Reid also ordered Stephanopoulos to sit for a deposition next week, either in person or remotely. His deposition is also limited to four hours.
contributed to this report.