The jury verdict in the Carroll vs Trump 'rape case' came down last night, not guilty! But, guilty of sexual abuse & defamation. So, what is sexual abuse and defamation? Apparently Trump was guilty of calling her case a "hoax" and a "con job". Wow, that sounds really bad... must be defamation I guess. Sexual abuse is defined in New York as subjecting a person to sexual contact without consent. Ms Carroll said that the attack followed a chance encounter one evening at Bergdorf’s, a fashionable department store on Fifth Avenue. Mr. Trump, she said, asked her to help him buy a present for a female friend.They ended up in the lingerie section, where he motioned her over to a dressing room, shut the door and began assaulting her. He shoved her against the wall and, using his weight to pin her, he pulled down her tights and forced his fingers into her vagina and then, she said, his penis. She pushed back, stamped with her heels and used her knee to push Mr. Trump off her, and she fled the store. That scenario certainly sounds like assault and matches the NY definition. But this is not a criminal court, it is a civil court, so he is found liable, and was asked to pay a fine of $5M. But, the word 'abuse' conjurs up images of beatings and physical abuse, which is not part of this explanation as much as 'assault' is. Many doubt there was any evidence to prove these allegations, other than, he said, she said. Various media outlets used political narratives like:

• Trump "falsely claimed" that he wasn't allowed to defend himself.
• The NY Times added, "More than a dozen women have accused Mr. Trump of sexual misconduct"
• The old Access Hollywood tape with Billy Bush was brought up further indicating a pattern of behavior.
• This is typical for women in rape cases.
• The Huffington Post actually used the inflammatory headline, Donald Trump Responds To E. Jean Carroll Rape Verdict, as if to indicate there was a 'rape verdict'. And, if it required a Trump response, it must be bad for Trump.
• And, The verdict comes as Mr. Trump confronts a barrage of legal actions.

So, the media got what it wanted, many defamatory lines to write about Trump. The Democrats got what they wanted, another 2024 Presidential election narrative to repeat. Trump haters, of the Democrat & Republican variety, will say vindication for what everyone already knows about him. The right gets to again put him up as a victim. Trump gets to play the victim card again, "hoax' and "con job'. Supporters say this was just a Democrat judge, in a NY court, making a political decision with no evidence, it will be appealed and overturned. Sen Tommy Tuberville says this verdict 'makes me want to vote for him twice.'“I would tell you, in my four-and-a-half years serving alongside the president, I never heard or witnessed behavior of that nature,” said former vice president Mike Pence in an interview with NBC News. If this decision is appealed and overturned, does it change any of the above? No. All of it still runs in the media and rolls off political tongues. There will be no retractions, just volume increases on both sides. Good or bad for Trump? Probably both sides can get equal mileage out of this story. But, for the rest of us, please stop.