Protesters say they were assaulted while demonstrating outside Trump Tower following Mr Trump's negative comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants. AFP
Protesters say they were assaulted while demonstrating outside Trump Tower following Mr Trump's negative comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants. AFP
Protesters say they were assaulted while demonstrating outside Trump Tower following Mr Trump's negative comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants. AFP
Protesters say they were assaulted while demonstrating outside Trump Tower following Mr Trump's negative comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants. AFP

Trump questioned in lawsuit over reported assault at Trump Tower


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Former US president Donald Trump gave evidence under oath on Monday as part of a civil lawsuit brought by a group of protesters who say they were assaulted by his security guards, a lawyer for the demonstrators told a news conference.

Mr Trump sat for a videotaped deposition on Monday morning at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, said Benjamin Dictor, a lawyer who had sought Mr Trump's evidence in the long-running dispute.

“The president was exactly how you would expect him to be. He answered questions the way you would expect Mr Trump to answer questions and conducted himself in a manner that you would expect Mr Trump to conduct himself,” CNN reported Mr Dictor as saying.

The former president was questioned for more than four hours, CNN said.

New York Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez last week ordered Mr Trump to sit for the videotaped deposition.

A group of protesters brought the lawsuit in 2015, saying that Mr Trump's security guards attacked them while they were demonstrating outside Trump Tower over the then-presidential candidate's negative comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants.

“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists,” he said during the June 16 speech announcing his candidacy.

The construction of a border wall separating the US from Mexico was one of Mr Trump's signature campaign promises.

Taylor Budowich, Mr Trump's spokesman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said.

The videotaped deposition will be played before a jury if the case proceeds to trial.

The former president is currently facing at least 10 civil suits over reported fraud, defamation and more. He could also be questioned about claims he sexually assaulted former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos.

Ms Zervos, who says Mr Trump assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room more than a decade ago, sued him for defamation after he called her a liar before the 2016 election.

Mr Trump managed to stall the case for much of his presidency, but New York’s highest court said in March that the case should continue now that he is out of office.

Prop idols

Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.

Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)

An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.

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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)

Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.

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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)

Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.

Oppenheimer
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Updated: October 18, 2021, 8:40 PM`