I generally try to erase old recordings on my DVR on a regular basis. With the exception of my own television appearances which are becoming less appealing as my aging face and HD technologies battle for supremacy, I never hold onto shows for more than a month.
The one exception is the televised Supreme Court nomination hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh. I have hours and hours of that hearing on digital, and I will never erase what I consider to be the perfect representation of the most horrific excesses of the MeToo movement.
Watching it now, over five years later, gives me the chills. The women on the judiciary committee, especially Amy Klobuchar and the current VP Kamala Harris, were Torquemadas with ovaries. The Senator from Minnesota was busy depicting Kavanaugh as a drunk, while the then-Senator from California kept treating the now Supreme Court Justice as a rapist. These women, and the men and women who supported them, were reprehensible examples of the off the rails witch hunts that claimed the reputations, and in many some cases lives, of men who were denied even the most minimal level of due process.
I thought back to that hearing as I watched the estrogen-fueled explosions of joy when a New York jury awarded E. Jean Carroll over 80 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages for what she claimed was defamation. Many years ago, Carroll alleges that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman. No one saw it, there were no security camera outtakes, there was no police report, there were two women who conveniently said “yeah, she told me about it” and the alleged abuser adamantly denied that he even knew who Carroll even was.
It was precisely this denial of knowledge, added to the saucy description of Carroll as a “whack job” that caused her to sue him for ruining her reputation. To be clear, she did not have much of a reputation to speak of prior to this incident. She was an advice columnist for Elle Magazine, shoveling out pithy and not particularly astute answers to the type of problems Upper East Side New York women encounter. We are not talking about Freud here. I used to read her column “Ask E. Jean” more for the comedy content than for any relatable advice. She was middle-aged even then, trying to be relevant with the cool folks. And that’s fine, we all get through life as well as we can.
But the suggestion that she would file a defamation suit against a man who was never charged with rape, and who credibly didn’t remember who she was — which is probably understandable given the fact that he was with Melania at the time of the alleged assault — is outrageous.
And then I return to the Kavanaugh tapes, and I see exactly how it could, and did, happen. The MeToo movement was a phenomenon not unlike the Salem Witch trials, where evidence was not necessary for a conviction. The mere suggestion that someone was a witch or rapist was enough to put the target of that accusation on the eternal offensive, and societal norms were manipulated to the point that if you did not “believe all women” you yourself were targeted as a rape apologist.
It happened to me over and over for a very long period. It happened to me when I defended Republicans and when I defended Democrats, when I defended white men and black men, when I defended gay men and straight men, and when I defended priests and laity. There was such a feeling of vengeance on the part of women that the toxicity of the atmosphere made me afraid for the younger generation of boys, the Gen Zs. I am still afraid for them, given what they have to deal with in this day and age.
But back to Trump. I have no doubt that the man has been crude and dismissive of the women in his life. Money and power are the sort of aphrodisiacs which ensnare even the most mature and educated women. Trump is not a gentleman, and anyone who tries to defend him on those grounds is either a liar or an idiot.
But that does not mean that he raped a has-been advice columnist in the dressing room of, for God’s sake, Bergdorf Goodman. The fact that all of this was playing out in a civil arena is something that people are ignoring. The standard of proof in a civil case is well below that in a criminal case. Of course, no criminal charges could be brought because E. Jean Carroll never thought to lodge a police report. She only told a couple of friends, continued with her life and apparently moved on without any particular problems.
Then one day she saw all of the other ladies gaining advantage with their Grimm MeToo Fairy Tales, and decided that maybe she could capitalize on the moment. And capitalize she did.
It is laughable that a New York jury initially found Trump liable for sexual assault, on the word of a woman and a couple of her friends. There was absolutely no objective credible evidence that anything had happened. This is perhaps why Trump continued to protest that he hadn’t done anything and that his accuser was a crackpot. His opinion, protected by the First Amendment.
So Miss I Forgot When And How it Happened But Shut Up and Believe Me went back to court because her tender feelings were bruised. And again, that jury pool awarded her a huge pay day.
This would not have happened if MeToo had not given women license to lie, or to exaggerate. Destroying men’s lives became a competitive sport, and in Carroll’s case, a lucrative one.
As a lawyer, I’m angered. As a woman, I’m embarrassed.
And I’m not erasing that Kavanaugh tape.
Christine Flowers is an attorney and lifelong Philadelphian. @flowerlady61
There’s more evidence of Trump assaulting E. Jean Carroll then there is Bill Clinton raping
MAGA crackpot Juanita Broaddrick. Trump, who has dozens of his own accusers brought this liar to his 2016 debate with Hillary Clinton to shame her. I have less than zero sympathy for Trump. He’s more than happy to join MeToo when he’s smearing others and thinks he’ll gain from it. Glad Trump got the Karma he well deserves.
Christine is the perfect example of someone so irrational that they will take the most ludicrous position to defend someone who is on their team. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris et al are SO bad, she will do backflips to defend probably the most obviously guilty person if that person represents what she approves of. Regardless of her juvenile defense of the poly-guilty Trump, the point is that none of us really know what happened at Bergdorf Goodman. It is entirely possible and believable that he assaulted her. It is also possible that he didn’t. It is certainly more believable that he is guilty since it is well known that he is a life-long misogynist who has had dozens of women accuse him of assault long before he was President. This is a man who proudly boasts of his loathsome behavior towards women. From the genital grabbing tape to bragging about having access to the dressing rooms of the Miss Universe contests to dating his own daughter. Even his ex-wife Ivana said he raped her. (Yes. The first wife who he planted on his golf course for the tax breaks.) But… he is a wannabe authoritarian who believes in many of the tenets of white Christian nationalism and that gets Christina’s spine all tingly. So of course the right thing to do is attack anyone who attacks him. This is how the most irrational people (on both sides) operate. Facts and reason be damned. Defend your team at all costs. As a bonus – Christine as usual peppers her case with abject stupidity. 1: Asserting that Donald didn’t remember who E. Jean Carroll was because “he was with Melania at the time.” The assault occurred in 1996. Trump didn’t meet Melania until 1998. He was still busy cheating on Marla Maples in 1996. 2: Comparing Klobuchar and Harris to Torquemada which which in itself is ridiculous hyperbole. Torquemada, famous for actual physical torture did so in the name of the Catholic church. The very institution that Christine doesn’t go a day without telling everyone that she is proudly a member and will admittedly cry if someone even questions its motives throughout the centuries. People on the extreme outer fringes of rationality can be simply annoying if they are passive. When they become loud and noisy and hateful with access to public airwaves and social media, they become the dregs of society and quite frankly, dangerous as they perpetuate this amoral extremism to those who foolishly pay attention to them. If you consider yourself “conservative,” pay attention to people like David Frum, Andrew Sullivan and George Will. Dismiss these squawking zealots like Christine and their local talk radio catalysts who are equally stupid. You will be doing yourself, your family and your country a large service.
I thought the author very clearly stated, more than once, her position was not defending Trump. It was the irrational response by masses of women to ignore reason and law to attack a man during the frenzied metoo and anti Trump fervor.
Anyone that isn’t against these men 100% are with them!
Unfortunately, your response and the previous females response ignored Ms. Flowers well written, reasoned and structured point.
It was great.
It even has you proving her point here, in the comments.
After high profile, serial sexual harassers like Trump, Jeffery Epstein, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Dr. Larry Nasser, Danny Masters, and Mark Halperin. Whose actions were covered up, protected by friends, wealth, and power. This is not the actions of an irrational mob, this is the reaction of people that are no longer willing to tolerate their actions and those of others.
Ms. Flowers justified actions like Trumps by victim blaming. “alleged abuser adamantly denied that he even knew who Carroll even was.”, Trump denies everything including that he lost the 2020 election. “Money and power are the sort of aphrodisiacs which ensnare even the most mature and educated women.”, having money and power does not justify Trump’s behavior.
As a man, I’m angered. As a human being, I’m embarrassed.
Now that’s some pent up anger right there.
E-Jean and Blasey are whack jobs.
Wear your vajay-jay hat proudly.
Whatever one thinks of Christine Flowers or Donald Trump or E. Jean Carroll or Brett Kavanagh, the use of the legal system to gain some moments of fame and a gigantic payday signals the collapse of the rule of law and the foundation of justice in America. It all seems to me to have begun with the hearings on the nomination of Attorney Bork to the Supreme Court. Not having any disqualifying items in his education or work history, a new strategy was developed by the “progressives” in the Senate. Character assassination. It worked so well that this approached has been informally used as a verb: to be “borked.” Over the years, character assassination has leaked its way into civil litigation where revenge and payback has replaced justice and is dispensed in lavish amounts by juries who, in a great number of cases, simply don’t give a damn, or in others, use the system to get back at “the rich,” the famous, or the notorious. A great deal of time and effort has been devoted to torturing the law to fit the most bizarre legal theories which could lead to a big payday. I don’t want to interject my personal opinion as to whether or not E. Jean Carroll’s award is justified. But I do want to observe that there are thousands of women out in society who have been raped and/or abused, and then disparaged, by people who don’t have a big dollar bank account they can access. Where is their justice? It is my opinion that E. Jean Carroll’s award should be put into a trust and used to compensate deserving women who otherwise have nothing to help compensate for the rape/abuse.
Trevor Bauer, the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020, and a woman who accused him of beating and sexually assaulting her in 2021 have settled their legal dispute. Guess what? He adamantly denied the allegations against him throughout the entire process. However, he lost about $350mm as he was placed on administrative leave by MLB in July 2021 after the initial allegations were made. Then he sued her to get discovery. The discovery?
“‘Next victim. Star pitcher for the Dodgers,'” said a text sent by Lindsey Hill, his accuser, which she sent to a friend before she ever even met Trevor Bauer. ‘What should I steal?’ she asked another, in reference to visiting his house for the first time. The answer? ‘Take his money.’ So how might that work? ‘I’m going to his house Wednesday.’ she said, ‘I already have my hooks in. you know how I roll.’ Then, after the first time we met, “Net worth is 51 mil” she said. ‘b—h, you better secure the bag’, was the response.
George Knoll, go back to being nice and polite and hope you do not get accused of something by some crazy greedy woman. “It takes 18 years for a woman to raise a man, and it takes 18 seconds for another woman to destroy his reputation.”
Some women, since time began, have often falsely accused men for gain, however If I were to believe all women did so, not only would I have been an unhappy misanthrope, but I would have never dated and I would not have married my lovely wife of 60 years. I would also have made certain I would not find myself in any situations that could be misinterpreted, by have a demeaner that would be nasty, hostile and unfriendly. Fortunately for me, I have never been any of the foregoing. Currently, at age 82, and still married to my one and only wife, I am fairly confident I will not find myself in any circumstances that could be compromising and so not testing the theory that all women are devious Golddiggers.
No one said they all are, George. I’ve been married for 15 short years with four children. Without my wife I would be a bum. For every example of one woman wronged by a man there is another example of a man wronged by a woman. Most people in prison are men. Most people on the street are men. Most victims of violent crimes are men. Most people who commit suicide are men. Most people who die in wars are men. People who do worse in school are men.
Christine’s points are valid: “The standard of proof in a civil case is well below that in a criminal case. Of course, no criminal charges could be brought because E. Jean Carroll never thought to lodge a police report. She only told a couple of friends, continued with her life and apparently moved on without any particular problems. …[she] decided that maybe she could capitalize on the moment. And capitalize she did. (George do you know who funded her lawyers?)
It is laughable that a New York jury initially found Trump liable for sexual assault, on the word of a woman and a couple of her friends. There was absolutely no objective credible evidence that anything had happened. This is perhaps why Trump continued to protest that he hadn’t done anything and that his accuser was a crackpot.”
i feel sorry for whoever is living with margaret–what a windbag—maybe she should interview for a job on the VIEW—