Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb called his old boss a “rapist” on live television Saturday—and MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart immediately pushed back.
In an interview, Cobb, who served in Trump’s first administration, blasted his former boss, calling him a “malignant narcissist, convicted felon, rapist, and somebody who was really out to feather his own nest.”
Capehart then interrupted to point out that Trump wasn’t 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 responded. “But the federal judge who oversaw the [E. Jean Carroll] trial said on the record that he was guilty of rape.”
“No, no, no, sexual assault,” Capehart insisted.
“No, actually, Jonathan, you’re wrong,” Cobb shot back, adding: “I’ll send you the site,” to which Capehart responded: “Please do.”
Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s after the two 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 determined that the conduct established by the jury fell within the “common” understanding of the word “rape.”
The issue came up after Trump later sued Carroll for defamation after she described the attack as rape. Kaplan ruled that the characterization was “substantially true.”
Carroll was paid the $5.62 million (including accumulated interest) Trump owed her in July after his protracted 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.
