Attorneys for President Donald Trump have posted a video of a 2016 encounter between Trump and then-campaign worker Alva Johnson they claim refutes her allegation he forcibly kissed her.
The video was recorded by campaign volunteer Brian Hayes on his cell phone in a vehicle ahead of rally in Tampa, Florida in 2016.
“In watching the video, the only conclusion a reasonable person could reach is the exchange was an innocent moment between a dedicated campaign staffer and the candidate for whom she was working,” Harder added.
However, attorneys for Johnson claim the clip backs up her account, proving she and Trump interacted at the time she claimed.
“We are gratified and pleased that we finally have proof what Ms. Johnson has been alleging in this lawsuit. It is basically exactly what Ms. Johnson has been saying,” Johnson’s attorney Hassan Zavareei told Politico.
Zavareei said Johnson does not appear to react adversely in the video because she did not appreciate the gravity of the moment until the release of a 2006 recording in which Trump told then-“Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush his fame allows him to get away with groping women.
#MAGA Twitter. Don't you let me down. I know conservatives suck at social media but this is a "lay up". You better RT the f---k out of this video!
— A FREE BLACK MAN (@AFreeBlackMan) July 11, 2019
Alva Johnson lied. plain and simple. Is this sexual assault? Is this forcible kissing? No. #AlvaJohnsonLied pic.twitter.com/VTlSAc9W5R
“Does it look dramatic? No. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a serious battery. It’s a battery because she didn’t want it to happen. It’s not an appropriate thing to do to another person,” he said.
Zavareei also said the video evidence Johnson was present on the RV contradicts claims by Trump Florida campaign chief Karen Giorno that she couldn’t recall Johnson being present on the RV.
A federal judge dismissed Johnson’s lawsuit in June, telling her to refile it after excising references to allegations by over a dozen other women who’ve accused Trump of sexual misconduct and quotes from news reports.
