Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) summed up the Senate’s expected acquittal of President Donald Trump Wednesday by quoting the man himself from the infamous “Access Hollywood” recording in which the then-reality TV host bragged about sexually assaulting women.
“We must recognize that still in America, there are two systems of justice: one for the powerful and another for everyone else,” Harris said on the Senate floor, decrying the lack of transparency in the Senate impeachment trial, in which Republicans voted down Democrats’ efforts to demand witness testimony and documents from Trump and the White House, which has repeatedly refused to provide them.
“Donald Trump knows all this better than anybody. He may not acknowledge that we have two systems of justice, but he knows the institutions in this country, be it courts or the Senate, are set up to protect powerful people like him,” she continued. “He told us as much. When regarding the sexual assault of women, he said, quote, ‘When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.’”
That line came from the 2005 recording, leaked to The Washington Post in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. On the tape, Trump and Billy Bush, then-host of “Access Hollywood,” can be heard mocking and making vulgar comments about women, with Trump bragging that he could “grab ’em by the pussy.”
“I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says on the tape. “You can do anything.”
At least 20 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
Later Wednesday, the Senate will vote whether to convict and remove Trump on two articles of impeachment. The GOP majority is expected to acquit him on a party-line vote.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.