Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb called his former boss a “rapist” on live TV on Saturday—and MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart quickly responded.
In an interview, Cobb, who worked in Trump’s first term, criticized his ex-boss, calling him a “malignant narcissist, convicted felon, rapist, and someone who was really out to look out for himself.”
Capehart interrupted to say that Trump hasn’t been convicted of rape.
“Ty, I just have to stop you… because you just called the president a rapist,” he said.“That is a legal thing that he has not been convicted of.So we’ve just got to be clear on that.”
“You’re absolutely right.
He has not been convicted of it,” Cobb replied.“But the federal judge who handled the [E.Jean Carroll] trial said on the record that he was guilty of rape.”
“No, no, no, sexual assault,” Capehart said.
“No, actually, Jonathan, you’re wrong,” Cobb replied, adding: “I’ll send you the site,” to which Capehart responded: “Please do.”
Carroll claimed Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s after they met at a Manhattan department store.
She said Trump followed her into a dressing room and “forcibly penetrated her.”
In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of Carroll and awarded her a $5 million judgment.
Trump has consistently denied the assault, saying Carroll is “not my type.”
Federal District Judge Lewis A.
Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, later said that the conduct found by the jury fit within the “common” understanding of the word “rape.”
The issue came up after Trump sued Carroll for defamation after she described the attack as rape.
Kaplan ruled that the description was “substantially true.”
Carroll received the $5.62 million (including accumulated interest) Trump owed her in July after his long court battle against the decision ended in June when the Supreme Court refused to take up the case.
Trump still owes Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation judgment from a separate 2024 trial, which has been paused while he pursues appeals.
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