Does this video prove Trump inappropriately kissed a 2016 campaign worker or vindicate him?

Video of Trump kissing campaign volunteer
(Image credit: Harder LLP via The Washington Post)

Lawyers for President Trump released a 15-second video clip they say clears Trump of allegations that he forcibly kissed a campaign staffer, Alva Johnson, without her consent before an August 2016 rally in Tampa, Florida. Lawyers for Johnson, who quit the campaign a few weeks later, after watching Trump's infamous Access Hollywood sexual assault confessional, say the video corroborates her account that Trump grabbed her hand, leaned in for a kiss on the mouth, and landed the kiss nearby on her cheek after Johnson turned her head at the last second.

In February, when Johnson sued Trump, she called the encounter "super creepy and inappropriate" and said, "I immediately felt violated because I wasn't expecting it or wanting it. I can still see his lips coming straight for my face." Far from "providing clarity" about what really happened, The Washington Post notes, "the 15-second video released Wednesday by Charles Harder, an attorney for Trump, only led to conflicting interpretations."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.