This is as absurd as you would expect from a lawyer for Donald Trump. Closing arguments began today in the Carroll v. Trump civil rape trial. As expected, Joe Tacopina made this into a conspiracy to defame Trump. He mentioned that George Conway was the one who introduced E. Jean Carroll to a lawyer — whilst saying that he didn’t intend to frame this matter as a conspiracy. interesting.
Then he went on to characterize Ms. Carroll’s experience as not “real rape.” So it was unreal rape, perhaps?
Tacopina: Ms. Kaplan said *maybe* Mr. Trump met Ms. Carroll at a TV studio in New Jersey… Or he saw a re-run. Maybe the door was open. I'm going to play you his denial:
[Deposition, Trump: It didn't happen. If it had, it would have been reported with minutes— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
Tacopina: How do you prove a negative? If Donald Trump had come, what could I have asked him? About some unknown date? This is a civil case. They could have called Donald Trump. But they didn't. They just want you to hate him enough
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
There you have it. Trump is the victim here. The only issue here is that people don’t like poor Donald and so they’re making up stories about him.
Now get ready, this goes downhill and fast.
Tacopina: Ms. Leeds says she didn't tell her boss because she didn't want to complain about the rigors of travel. Are you kidding me? She says Donald Trump called her "the c*nt from the airplane," in front of his wife. She was enraged in front of her TV
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
Tacopina: They are using the Art of Distraction. They are trying to take parts of Donald Trump you hate and stretch them over her story. If this weren't about Trump, we wouldn't be here today. No way.
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
Interesting point of view. John Q. Public could have raped somebody at the same time and place but he would have walked. Only Trump is held accountable under the law. Terrific spin. My head is ready to fall off.
I’ve heard many closings, but this is *way* over the top on the aggressiveness meter. Tacopina needed to deliver a subtler closing that *respectfully* pointed out weaknesses in E Jean’s case. But like his client, he doesn’t do subtle…
— Law_Dog (@maximusgsd) May 8, 2023
Here are a few comments from plaintiff’s counsel.
Counsel: The witnesses here have not hatched any conspiracy. If there was a conspiracy, why would Carol Martin criticize E. Jean Carroll, in writing, to a friend? You heard Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff. Leed was assaulted on an airplane. She told no one
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
Counsel: Trump says he didn't shop at Bergdorf. That was a lie. He said he didn't meet Ms. Carroll. That was a lie. He said she was not his type – but confused her with Marla Maples. He lied and said the professionally taken photo was blurry. He lied about Ailes
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
Counsel: The law allows you to compensate E. Jean Carroll. I'm not going to tell you how much. On behalf of our team and E. Jean Carroll, thank you.
Judge Kaplan: Can I see Ms. Kaplan and Mr. Tacopina at the sidebar?
[Whispered sidebar]— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 8, 2023
There will be more detail and transcripts coming out later. This gives you the flavor of the situation.
Thank you for this news.
That’s what we’re here for. Do you love it? Poor Donald, he’s the victim. Everybody’s so mean. Waaaaaaaa!
So, Joe Tacopenishead decided channeling Missouri’s Todd “Legitimate Rape” Aiken was the way to go? If this weren’t such a serious matter I’d treat it like me or old golfing pals ribbing someone on the golf course that just hit a REALLY bad shot with a dripping with sarcasm “Nice Ball!” I’ll guarantee you if he was in the men’s room with only one other person, someone younger, bigger and FAR stronger who suddenly shove him into a stall, yanked his pants down far enough and shoved his dick in & started pumping even though little Joe objected verbally and struggled to get free he goddamn well feel raped. Not that he would tell anyone. Men are even more reluctant to report being raped than women but that’s a longer matter to discuss. I for one don’t think it will go over well with the jury and that he likely did more damage to Trump than has already been done in this trial so far.
Since I’ve been heavy into speculation in recent days I have some more. What if Tacopina has decided to throw the case? Bear with me. First, as we know one of the biggest reasons Trump has trouble getting top flight lawyers is a lifetime of stiffing lawyers when it comes time to pay them. More recently those with some level of legal skill have been demanding upfront retainers and not just small ones. Tacopina isn’t of the level that could have demanded a really big retainer however. What if he negotiated one with Trump that was split up? A fairly decent fee where say half of the retainer was paid upfront and the balance would come if the matter didn’t get to trial? Or even that the second part would be split – half of the remainder would be paid, and what was left outstanding only be paid if Tacopina won the case?
If you think about it in those terms it makes sense. Tacopina knows it’s likely he’s going to lose. And if I’m right about his financial agreement with Trump he not only will get fired but has already gotten every dollar he’s ever going to get from Trump. Why cost himself more money on the case. He can help ensure it’s over and done with quickly and that he can move on – to clients that he can not only bill but actually get paid for! Makes sense to me.
It seems TFG is not a very sympathetic defendant and his lawyer is not helping the matter.
This is one domino theory I can fantasize about. Lose this one, then the rest of the state cases, then the big ones jack has in his pocket, and, finally dress the big domino in a color that matches his face. Somewhere over the rainbow…
Fake rape? Yeah, that’s gonna go over well. We’re all a lot savvier about all this after the MeToo movement (though some of us were before it due to our own experiences) and fake rape isn’t a thing except in the mind of clueless, delusional, rationalizing mansplainers who don’t know WTF they are talking about. Joe Taco, just shut the hell up.
I honestly think he’s making things worse for his client.
Most rapes are not reported. I never reported the date rape I experienced. I did get him back, him being 19 and me being 13 I told him I was pregnant so he had to tell his parents what he did. That was almost as good as seeing that pedo (at 19 he had a pattern that I wasn’t aware of) go to jail. After me, he went after a 12-year old friend. I was happy to warn her off. I often wondered how many girls he raped. But there are so many types of rape and most of them go unreported. And none of them are “fake”.
So, Joey Tapioca is going with the Todd Aiken definition of “Legitimate Rape?
Is there anything better than a stereotype like Joey tapioca mansplaining rape?That’s right up there with “the female body has ways of shutting that down” to ensure pregnancy can be avoided as a product of rape. My seething resentment has left me speechless.