Trump mistook rape accuser E Jean Carroll for ex-wife, deposition shows

Donald Trump mistook E Jean Carroll, the writer who accuses him of rape, for his ex-wife Marla Maples during a deposition in the case last year, excerpts released in US district court on Wednesday showed.

Carroll says Trump raped her in a department store changing room in the mid-1990s. Trump denies it.

Carroll sued Trump for defamation and under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law which allows alleged victims of historical sexual assault to bring cases within a defined timeframe.

Trump was married to Maples, the mother of his daughter Tiffany, from 1993 to 1999, between marriages to Ivana Trump, his first wife, and Melania Trump, his third and current spouse.

Trump is the only declared candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. A poll released on Wednesday gave him a 17-point lead over his nearest notional challenger, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis.