Donald Trump’s team of lawyers certainly has their work cut out for them, especially now that a tape from 2005 may be used in a defamation trial against the former president.
The case was originally brought up by writer E. Jean Carroll, who claimed Trump raped her in a changing room in the mid-1990s, after which he’d “lied” when she went public with her accusations.
Trump calls for removal of Access Hollywood tapes from an ongoing case
In fact, the only reason the tape could be relevant is due to a comment Trump made in 2005 during an appearance on Access Hollywood. He said when you’re a star, they’ll let you do anything, which has been taken out of context dozens of times by now.
NBC News confirms: Lawyers for Donald Trump are seeking to bar the 'Access Hollywood' tape from being used in the upcoming defamation trial brought by E. Jean Carroll, who alleges Trump raped her in the 1990s. @MSNBC
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 18, 2023
Trump’s lawyers argued the tape’s contents are in no way related to the supposed rape of the writer and they’re completely unrelated, seeing as there was no mention of Carroll during the show.
However, this didn’t stop Carroll and her own lawyer from claiming it’s a sign of her case not being an isolated one, which was brought up several times during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
If you look back, you’ll see an entire trail of attempts at smearing the former president, starting with his campaign up until the end of his presidency, the majority of them completely baseless and speculatory at best.
FLASHBACK: Anderson Cooper’s bizarre interview with E Jean Carroll in 2019: pic.twitter.com/1NW9rCnriG
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 10, 2023
Trump’s in for a bumpy ride
Unfortunately, Trump’s vanity almost got the best of him during his October deposition when he was asked whether he actually made any of the remarks. He responded that “stars” generally get to do a lot more.
He went on to describe himself as a star; although he stood his ground regarding the 2005 comments he’d made, referring to them as nothing more than “locker room talk.”
The fact still remains that Trump was heavily litigated during his campaign; in spite of it all, he still came out on top, which is a testament to what the people actually wanted.
While this claim of his may not have been on-point, seeing as the former president won due to Electoral College voting, rather than the popular vote, it’s tough to deny the left kept bringing pitchforks and torches to just about every single one of his public appearances.
BREAKING: Donald Trump says he will testify in his OWN defense against E Jean Carroll and will call Anderson Cooper to the stand as a witness 😂
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 10, 2023
The two lawsuits, both of which were filed by Carroll, were set for a late April trial date. Judge Kaplan refused to comment on whether the tape will actually be barred from the trials.
According to Carroll, the MeToo movement gave her inspiration for filing the lawsuit. Although Trump argued she was merely doing it to promote her book back in 2019, which is yet another comment of his that was met with backlash.
However, a picture from around the mid-1990s shows Carroll alongside Trump’s then-wife, Marla Maples, which may undercut the former president’s comments about Carroll “not being his type,” as he once confused her for his wife in said photograph.
