Judge Denies Trump’s Bid to Quash Deposition in E. Jean Carroll Defamation Suit, Setting Stage for Tense Under-Oath Testimony

WASHINGTON — In a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s legal maneuvering, a federal judge in Manhattan on Monday rejected his latest attempt to delay a deposition in the long-running defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll, ordering him to sit for sworn questioning by Dec. 20 — a ruling that instantly escalated tensions in Washington and sent the president’s legal team into frantic appeals.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, overseeing the case in the Southern District of New York, dismissed Mr. Trump’s motion to quash the subpoena as “another in a series of dilatory tactics” and warned that further delay would result in sanctions. The deposition, limited to four hours, will focus on statements Mr. Trump made in June 2024 from the Oval Office calling Ms. Carroll’s sexual-assault accusation “a complete con job” and “the greatest witch hunt in history” — remarks a jury previously found defamatory, awarding Ms. Carroll $5 million in 2023 and an additional $83.3 million in punitive damages in January 2025.

In a 28-page opinion laced with impatience, Judge Kaplan wrote: “The defendant is not above the law, and the presidency does not confer immunity from civil discovery in cases involving private conduct that occurred before he took office.” He noted that Mr. Trump had already been deposed twice in the matter — once in October 2022 and again in 2024 — and that the Supreme Court’s July 2024 immunity ruling in Trump v. United States applied only to official acts, not to personal statements made from the White House bully pulpit.

The ruling landed like a thunderclap in Washington, where Mr. Trump was preparing to depart for the G20 summit in Brazil. Aides described the president as “livid,” pacing the residence while dictating a series of Truth Social posts that called Judge Kaplan “a radical Obama judge” and vowed to “fight this unconstitutional harassment all the way to the Supreme Court.” By early afternoon, Attorney General Pam Bondi had filed an emergency stay motion with the Second Circuit, arguing that compelling a sitting president to testify “undermines the executive branch’s ability to function.”

Legal scholars were quick to point out the weakness of that position. “This is private defamation litigation arising from conduct in the 1990s,” said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor. “The Clinton v. Jones precedent is crystal clear: a president has no absolute immunity from civil suits over unofficial acts.” The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 1997 that President Bill Clinton could be sued and deposed while in office — a decision Mr. Trump’s lawyers once cited favorably when he was the plaintiff in other cases.

Ms. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta A. Kaplan (no relation to the judge), hailed the decision as “a victory for the rule of law.” Speaking outside the federal courthouse on Pearl Street, she said: “Mr. Trump has spent years trying to silence my client with insults and delay. Today the court said enough.” Ms. Carroll, standing beside her, added quietly: “I just want the truth under oath — again.”

The deposition is expected to be explosive. Transcripts from Mr. Trump’s 2022 session, released last year, showed him repeatedly attacking Ms. Carroll’s credibility and appearance, prompting Judge Kaplan to warn at the time that the former president risked “digging himself into a deeper hole.” Sources close to the Carroll team say they intend to press him on inconsistencies between his public denials and private statements recorded by aides, as well as his continued use of the presidency to amplify the defamation.

Inside the White House, the mood was described as “apocalyptic.” One senior adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Trump spent much of Monday afternoon on the phone with his personal lawyer Alina Habba and Ms. Bondi, demanding “every possible delay — immunity, executive privilege, anything.” Another aide recounted the president slamming a binder on the Resolute Desk and shouting: “They want me in a room for four hours with that woman’s lawyer? Over my dead body!”

The political fallout was immediate. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement calling the ruling “a reminder that no one — not even a twice-impeached, twice-elected president — is above accountability.” On the right, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a video accusing Judge Kaplan of “election interference,” while Fox News personalities framed the deposition as “the deep state’s final revenge.”

Yet even some Republican strategists privately welcomed the clarity. “Every delay just keeps this story alive through the midterms,” one said. “Sitting for four hours and answering questions under oath might actually be the cleanest way out.”

As Mr. Trump boarded Air Force One for Brazil late Monday, reporters shouted questions about the deposition. He paused at the top of the stairs, flashed a thumbs-up, and said only: “Total witch hunt — but we’re winning bigly. See you in court!” Whether that court appearance happens before a Manhattan judge or, as his team hopes, a sympathetic Supreme Court remains the capital’s most urgent legal drama.

For now, the calendar is set: Dec. 20, 10 a.m., 500 Pearl Street. A president, a writer, and the truth — under oath, at last.