Noted Advice Columnist No Longer Seeks Trump Deposition in Case Over Rape Claim — but She Wants His DNA

Former Elle advice columnist and TV host E. Jean Carroll is no longer seeking a deposition from Donald Trump in her defamation case against the former president, with an attorney for Carroll saying in court this week that they are looking to move toward trial quickly.

Carroll does, however, want a DNA sample from the former president that she believes will support her sexual assault allegation against him.

"Today the court heard arguments on Donald J. Trump's latest, meritless effort to delay E. Jean Carroll's quest to show the world the truth," Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement sent to reporters on Tuesday. "We are grateful to Judge Kaplan for his respectful consideration of the issues and look forward to proving our case at trial."

An attorney for Trump did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Carroll's defamation suit against Trump, 75, stems from her claim that he sexually assaulted her in a New York City dressing room in the mid-1990s, which he adamantly denies.

He has likewise denied similar claims of sexual misconduct from more than a dozen women.

After Carroll, now 78, went public with her account of assault in 2019, Trump said in an interview: "No. 1: She's not my type" and, further, he had "never met this person in my life." (The two have been photographed together, though Trump said that was an incidental moment.)

Trump also tweeted that Carroll was "totally lying" about the rape, claiming she made up the allegation in order to help sell her memoir.

Following those comments, Carroll sued Trump, alleging that his statements that he didn't know her and hadn't assaulted her were both defamatory as were claims that she was lying "in order to increase book sales, carry out a political agenda, advance a conspiracy with the Democratic Party, and make money ... [and] that she had falsely accused other men of rape."

Carroll's suit argued that Trump caused her "emotional pain and suffering" and damaged "her reputation, honor, and dignity" and thus her career.

Trump's legal team attempted to countersue Carroll, arguing that the case violates laws protecting free speech. That argument appears to be facing a setback, however, as the federal judge presiding over the case called it "futile" on Tuesday.

"I question whether you have the right to do what you are seeking to do, because it seems to me it's entirely inconsistent with the notion of futility," the judge told Trump's attorney, per Reuters. "It may not be the way I resolve this matter."

While Carroll's attorneys are no longer seeking a deposition from Trump, they are reportedly seeking a DNA sample, which they have said they would compare to a dress Carroll says she wore during the alleged rape.

The case has dragged on in the courts, with both the Trump- and Biden-backed Justice Departments seeking to defend the former president, due to the comments he made about Carroll taking place during the scope of the presidency.

The Justice Department acknowledged that Trump's remarks about Carroll were "crude and disrespectful," but has argued that did not change the underlying legal issue: that he made the comments to reporters while serving as president.

"This case does not concern whether Mr. Trump's response was appropriate," an earlier filing made by the Department of Justice — and filed after Trump was out of office — stated. "Nor does it turn on the truthfulness of Ms. Carroll's allegations."

The case is currently on hold while the parties await a verdict from an appeals court concerning whether the Justice Department could be substituted for Trump as the defendant.

As CNN reports, the government cannot be sued for defamation, which would effectively end the lawsuit altogether.