Former President Donald Trump seems to be hopeful that a jury in his upcoming civil rape trial won’t hear the vulgar “Access Hollywood” tape in which he talked about groping women without their consent.
On Thursday evening, Trump’s lawyers asked Manhattan Federal Court Judge Lewis Kaplan to bar E. Jean Carroll’s attorneys from introducing the 2005 tape into evidence because it’s “irrelevant and highly prejudicial.”
In 2005, Trump was heard on a hot mic boasting to “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush about grabbing women “by the p—y.”
“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump said on the tape. “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the p—y.”
The comments went viral in October 2016 just a month before the presidential election, which Trump would go on to win, after producers stumbled on the tape while searching through some of his old appearances on the show. It was then leaked to the Washington Post, which published the bombshell report.
Carroll filed her suit against Trump in November after the state of New York temporarily changed its laws to allow adult rape victims to sue their abusers even if the crimes took place decades ago.
Carroll, a 79-year-old former Elle columnist, claimed Trump defamed her when he publicly denied her accusations that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room in the early 1990s.
Trump’s lawyers also asked the judge to prevent testimony from two women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct — and to ban references to his campaign speeches.
Trump, one of just two Republicans who have openly announced a bid for a 2024 presidential nomination, has denied he ever sexually assaulted anyone and brushed off his 2005 comments as “locker-room talk.” A trial is set for April 24, and both Trump and Carroll are expected to testify.
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