On Tuesday, CNN anchor Dana Bash and former President Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba got into a heated exchange over a verdict finding Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation in a civil case brought forward by former Elle Magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages because Trump essentially defended himself against some pretty heinous allegations.
Bash pointed to a letter written to the judge by Trump’s legal team about LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who helped fund Carroll’s lawsuit. The CNN anchor accused Trump of using political funds to pay off his defense lawyers, which Habba responded to by bringing up Hoffman’s presence on Jeffrey Epstein’s island.
“No, no, I didn’t raise it. You raised it, you raised his name when you wrote the letter to the judge,” Bash said.
When asked about the witnesses during the trial, all of whom supported Carroll’s accusation, Habba claimed they were making false accusations against Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
“You’re talking to me as if he was convicted of rape, which he wasn’t, he was actually cleared of it,” Habba said.
Bash then asked about the fifteen women who have accused Trump of sexual harassment or assault. Habba accused Bash of bringing up accusations from 2016 due to Trump’s strong polling numbers.
“Are you talking about 2016? Is that the desperation that we’re at right now?” the attorney asked.
The exchange highlighted the deep political divide in the United States and how it relates to the Trump trial. The Democrats, Liberals, and Bash are obviously against Trump and trying to use any means necessary to discredit him. On the other hand, those who are pro-Trump are trying to protect their leader from what they see as baseless accusations from Carroll and her ilk.
The jury’s verdict shows that while Trump may have been found liable for sexual battery and defamation, this was a civil suit and not a criminal case.
It’s important to note that the civil suit stands in contrast to the actual criminal case brought against Trump by Carroll, where he was found not guilty. I’m making that distinction because during this debate, Bash tried several times to blur that line and I doubt she’ll be the only one.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
