Trump Is Trying to Ban the Access Hollywood Tape From His Rape Trial (Because It Makes Him Sound Like He Could’ve Raped Someone)

In April, Donald Trump’s lawyers are set to defend him in civil court against allegations from writer E. Jean Carroll that he raped her in a department store in the mid-’90s. When they do, they really, really want to ensure that jurors are not allowed to hear the infamous Access Hollywood tape in which Trump brags about grabbing women “by the pussy” without their consent. Why? Because they know how bad it makes him sound!

In court papers filed late Thursday, Trump attorneys Alina Habba and Michael Madaio argued that the 2005 tape, which emerged while Trump was running for president the first time, should be banned from the trial. (They want both the tape itself and any references to it blocked.) Calling the recording “irrelevant and highly prejudicial,” the attorneys claim, per the Associated Press, that it “might unjustly be used to suggest to jurors that Trump had a propensity for sexual assault and therefore must have raped Carroll.” Why might the tape give jurors that idea, you ask? As a reminder, Trump told Access Hollywood host Billy Bush: “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful [women]. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Not surprisingly, Trump’s attorneys also reportedly want to block testimony from two women who have alleged sexual misconduct by the ex-president. (Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 26 women and has denied any and all allegations against him.)

During a deposition in October, Trump—who claimed in a 2019 interview with The Hill that Carroll was “totally lying” and not his “type”—mistook Carroll for his second ex-wife, Marla Maples. At other points in the under-oath deposition, Trump called Carroll a “nut job” and continued to insist that her allegations are a “hoax.”

In perhaps related news, Ivana Trump reportedly said during her 1990 divorce deposition that Trump had raped her the prior year, after ripping out handfuls of her hair. She later claimed she had not accused him in a “literal or criminal sense.”

Oh: Carlson also tried to get a reporter fired for fact-checking Trump’s election lies

In addition to exposing Fox’s top brass as massive hacks, the Dominion filing also revealed this:

…later that night of November 12, Ingraham was still texting with Hannity and Carlson. In their group text thread, Carlson pointed Hannity to a tweet by Fox reporter Jacqui Heinrich. Heinrich was “fact checking” a tweet by Trump that mentioned Dominion—and specifically mentioned Hannity’s and [Lou] Dobbs’ broadcasts that evening discussing Dominion. Heinrich correctly fact-checked the tweet, pointing out that “top election infrastructure officials” said that “‘There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.’” Carlson told Hannity: “Please get her fired. Seriously…. What the fuck? I’m actually shocked…It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”