Trump’s ‘grab her by the …’ tape may cost him a rape trial — and the presidency
By Andrew C. McCarthy
May 8, 2023 4:50pm
Politically speaking, Donald Trump was not hurt by the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape.
Though many initially saw it as a harpoon shot through his presidential bid, he won the 2016 election anyway.
The former president may be getting his comeuppance this week.
Trump has been sued in federal court by the former Elle magazine advice columnist, E. Jean Carroll, who claims that Trump raped her in the mid-nineties and then defamed her after she wrote publicly about it in 2019 in her book “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.”
The trial began its third week in Manhattan federal court on Monday with summations by opposing counsel.
Because it is a civil case, Trump cannot be found guilty of a crime.
At issue, instead, are civil claims — the New York state torts of battery and defamation.
Nevertheless, if the jury of six men and three women were to find Trump liable, it would be based on the conclusion that he did indeed sexually assault Carroll and then, decades later, falsely assert that she made the whole thing up.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that this case has flown under the radar, largely overlooked because of all the other investigations of Trump — the dubious indictment brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and the more serious probes underway by, in particular, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, into Trump’s allegedly unlawful retention of classified intelligence at Mar-a-Lago, and his role in trying to prevent Congress from ratifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
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https://nypost.com/2023/05/08/trumps-grab-her-by-the-tape-may-cost-him-a-rape-trial-and-the-presidency/
