It wasn't rape.
It was "sexual abuse" and "defamation."
ABC just settled a case with Donald Trump, giving him $15 million, plus another $1 million in attorney fees. George Stephanopoulos said Trump "raped" her. Trump said it wasn't rape, not exactly. |
Democrats should resist a temptation. It backfires when they imitate Trump. No need to exaggerate or round up when describing Trump's misbehaviors. Trump makes wildly untrue exaggerations. He gets away with it because about half of Americans like the schtick. Americans are told we must take Trump seriously, but not literally.
ABC TV anchor George Stephanopoulos made an unforced error. It cost ABC more than money. Trump supporters can claim that the settlement proves that ABC is biased. It proved to the rest of the world that ABC will cave to intimidation by Trump. Like other media companies, they are "making nice" with Trump, hoping to be out of the line of regulatory or prosecutorial fire.
It is unwise from the point of view of persuasion to speak loosely about Trump's misbehaviors. Rounding up backfires. It gives Trump and his supporters a basis for denying what Trump is accused of, rather than acknowledging his crimes for what they are.
Trump didn't force his penis inside Carroll without her consent. Apparently he just did it with his fingers. This is bad enough. The truth preserves the "ick" factor. Let Trump's defenders assert that "it wasn't that bad." Let them go on TV with that.
A lot of people do in fact minimize and accept Trump's misbehavior. They show he is bold and unbowed. This shirt was for sale at the Trump rally in Medford this June:
Trump has a magical effect on people in his fan club. He is a star, and as we heard him say in the "Access Hollywood" video, "When you are a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." Trump has permission to be Trump-the star. But not blanket permission, and not from everyone. That is why E. Jean Carroll spoke up, and a jury found that Trump sexually assaulted her.
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10 comments:
ABC settled before depositions were made and any evidence presented, probably because even though they could have won, Trump would still be the president, bent on retribution, and they’d be on his enemies list. This is what the judge in the case had to say about it:
“As the court explained in its recent decision denying Mr Trump’s motion for a new trial on damages and other relief [in the New York case] … based on all of the evidence at trial and the jury’s verdict as a whole, the jury’s finding that Mr Trump ‘sexually abused’ Ms Carroll implicitly determined that he forcibly penetrated her digitally – in other words, that Mr Trump in fact did ‘rape’ Ms Carroll as that term commonly is used and understood in contexts outside of the New York penal law.”
In order to award "damages," a court should assess "harm." I see no harm in Stephanopoulos' misspeaking, if anything it probably enhanced the old guy's reputation. But in that world, this whole case has no more meaning than the apparent millions of dollars now floating into Mar-A-Lago.
It’s like Trump and the Democrats are playing two different games: the Democrats are playing badminton, and Trump is playing rugby. The Democrats skillfully hit the shuttlecock to a place where Trump can’t easily reach it, and Trump charges through the net and knocks the Democrats to the ground.
You can’t win that way.
The network is hoping that for $16 million, Trump will move them from his naughty to nice list. It might even work - after all, he's not Santa Claus.
Anyone know why Question #3 remained unanswered in the verdict questionnaire? There should have been a yes or no answer to the question asked.
Is it ok for jurors to leave that blank?
I agree with the ABC will gness to settle. But buying favors seldom works.
Democrats apparently care more about the rule of law than winning.
As an irascible baseball coach once yelled at an umpire who had made what he considered to be a bad call:
“Are you going to get any better, or is this it?“
A brazen criminal like Trump is the perfect leader to represent a party that refuses to anything about the ongoing slaughter of schoolchildren beyond offering “thoughts and prayers.”
Given that the jury answered "yes" to question no. 2, it wasn't necessary for it to answer no. 3, because you can't say "yes" to 2 unless Donald Trump forced himself with E. Jean Carroll. Sexual contact that the victim doesn't want is an essential part of sexual abuse in a case such as this, and the verdict form reflects that. I hope this addresses M2's concern.
Let's be clear. ABC was extorted.
Peter, I don't care what Don Old's supporters claim. They're dishonest. They're a broken clock and a broken record.
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