Trump targets Jessica Leeds
Through the convention, Trump directed his ire at Jessica Leeds, who testified final yr about an alleged incident on a New York Metropolis-bound flight within the late Nineteen Seventies. Leeds had claimed that Trump groped her whereas they had been seated collectively in top notch. Trump, nonetheless, labeled her account as “impractical” and “made-up,” saying, “She wouldn’t have been the chosen one.”
He added, “Consider the impracticality of this. I’m well-known, I’m in a aircraft. Persons are coming into the aircraft, and I’m taking a look at a lady, and I seize her and I begin kissing her and making out along with her. What are the possibilities of that occuring? And albeit, I do know you’re going to say it’s a horrible factor to say, however it couldn’t have occurred. It didn’t occur.”
Claims of political motivations
Trump continued to say that the lawsuits towards him are politically motivated. He described the authorized instances as a part of a “witch hunt” and accused the Division of Justice of interfering in his presidential marketing campaign. “I’m operating for president, and I’ve all these instances unexpectedly come,” Trump declared.
His authorized troubles additionally embody a conviction on 34 felony counts associated to hush cash funds, with a decide anticipated to resolve on a postponement of his sentencing.
Defamation danger
Trump’s repeated denials of Carroll’s accusations could result in additional authorized hassle. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, has warned that continued defamatory remarks might end in further lawsuits for defamation. “We are going to monitor his feedback and take into account additional authorized motion if he persists,” Kaplan mentioned.
Criticism of 1996 verdict
Trump criticized the decision from the 1996 case, insisting he had by no means met Carroll and calling the ruling “ridiculous.” He additionally advised that Carroll’s allegations had been impressed by a “Regulation and Order” episode and aimed toward selling her memoir.
North Carolina poll resolution
In different political information, a North Carolina appeals court docket ordered that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s title be faraway from state ballots. The choice got here after Kennedy, who had suspended his presidential marketing campaign and endorsed Trump, sought to withdraw from the poll. This ruling delays the mailing of absentee ballots, impacting the election preparation course of.