‘It’s Not Me! It’s A Jury!’ Vaughn Hillyard Snaps Back At Elise Stefanik Blaming Media For Trump Sexual Assault Trial

MSNBC’s Vaughn Hillyard got into it with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) after she blamed the media for blowing up Donald Trump’s legal woes.

As the press surrounded Stefanik in New Hampshire, Hillyard confronted her about Trump’s E. Jean Carroll defamation/sexual assault case.

“How do you grapple with standing by his side while a jury is debating how much to award E. Jean Carroll for being sexually abused by Donald Trump?” Hillyard asked.

“These are witchhunts against President Trump!” Stefanik exclaimed. “The media is so biased. This is just another example of the media being —

“Why not believe E. Jean Carroll?” Hillyard shot back before addressing Stefanik’s accusation. “It’s not me! It’s not the media! It’s a jury that found that he sexually abused — ”

“Next question, next question,” an aide could be heard saying before Stefanik answered.

“Again, again. The media is so out of touch with the American people. Like in 2016, you are going to see the American people speak out loudly and clearly with their vote,” Stefanik said.

When discussing the confrontation on MSNBC’s morning show The Weekend, Hillyard said he felt compelled to ask Stefanik about the Carroll case:

I had to ask Elise Stefanik who was there on Donald Trump’s behalf, about the trial, because a jury is currently debating what to award her for — you know, the judge has already found him liable for sexually abusing her. And she’s coming out here on the campaign trail at an important time, four days before the New Hampshire primary. And she ultimately told me that she did not believe E. Jean Carroll.

This is Trump’s second defamation trial with Carroll, and it concerns comments he made about her while he was president in 2019. In the first case last year, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and then defaming her in 2022. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.

Stefanik is widely considered to be in the running for Donald Trump’s VP candidate if he wins the GOP nomination.

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.

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