Trump cutting Irish trip short to 'confront' accuser in New York case

Former US president Donald Trump has said he is cutting his trip to Ireland short so he can return to "confront" his accuser in a New York civil rape case, which he described as a "political attack".

Mr Trump said on Thursday he will "probably" the ongoing civil trial in New York where he is accused of rape and defamation, repeating his denials of the allegations during a visit to his golf resort in Doonbeg, Co Clare.

Writer E. Jean Carroll (79) says Mr Trump (76) raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s, and then tarred her reputation and career by lying about it online.

"I will probably attend (the trial) and I think it's a disgrace that it's allowed to happen, false accusations against a rich guy, or in my case against a famous, rich and political person," Mr Trump told reporters while he played golf at his Doonbeg resort.

"I have to go back for a woman that made a false accusation about me, and I have a judge who is extremely hostile."

Mr Trump also denied the accusation in a deposition video played on Wednesday for a Manhattan federal jury, as Mr Trump sought to defend himself without testifying in person.

Mr Trump, front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, will not be testifying in person, and his legal team told US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday they will not be calling any witnesses.

The trial has so far run for six days and is expected to extend into next week.

Ms Carroll said during three days of testimony and pointed cross-examination that Mr Trump slammed her against the wall in either 1995 or 1996, put his fingers into her vagina and then inserted his penis.

Denying the allegations in his deposition video, Mr Trump accused Carroll of making up the story to drive sales of a 2019 memoir in which she made her claims public. -Reuters