
There is no denying it–Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is in a death spiral. Late Friday afternoon, footage leaked out from 2005 showing Trump detailing how he came on to a woman in extremely graphic, vulgar, and potentially criminal terms. In the 48 hours since then, dozens of Republican elected officials have abandoned him, and the Republican National Committee appears to have left him to his fate. However, if current and former producers on Trump’s reality show, “The Apprentice,” are to be believed, there’s more where that came from. Specifically, Trump may have been caught on tape using racial slurs.
On Saturday night, former “Apprentice” producer Bill Pruitt dropped a bombshell on Twitter–there was footage that would make the 2005 tape look mild by comparison.
As a producer on seasons 1 & 2 of #theapprentice I assure you: when it comes to the #trumptapes there are far worse. #justthebegininng
— Bill Pruitt (@billpruitt) October 8, 2016
So the new $64,000 question in this festering scandal became “How bad was it?” Well, according to Emmy-winning producer Chris Nee, a number of her friends who were or still are producers at “The Apprentice” actually heard Trump use the N-word. However, she told Dallas Mavericks owner and prominent Trump critic Mark Cuban on Twitter that the powers that be at “The Apprentice” have made releasing such footage a very expensive risk.
https://twitter.com/chrisdocnee/status/785156663946858497
The “penalty fee” described by Nee refers to a threat by “Apprentice” creator and lead producer Mark Burnett to sue anyone who leaks the footage. This not only applies to his fellow “Apprentice” producers, but anyone who has signed a contract with Burnett–including Nee. For that reason, Nee appealed to both Cuban and Warren Buffett to help pay any and all legal expenses for anyone who leaks the tapes.
@WarrenBuffett wanna get in on this? Offer to pay the legal fees and fines of anyone who produces the hot mic tapes from #TheApprentice https://t.co/3eOKmH3DGb
— Chris Nee (@chrisdocnee) October 8, 2016
TMZ notes that Burnett doesn’t own the footage, but MGM does. In the last 24 hours, there has been intense pressure on MGM and Burnett to release any footage that could reveal more about Trump’s character. It probably won’t come as any surprise to Trump; reportedly, he knows that there is more damaging footage floating around. If this is true, Trump doesn’t even know the half of it.
Reportedly, leaking the footage could potentially cause serious legal problems since there are other people portrayed on it besides Trump. That may be why NBC News was initially skittish about releasing the tape. However, it took The Washington Post a mere five hours to vet the 2005 tape before releasing it. If a potentially explosive “Apprentice” tape were to be leaked, I would imagine that it only take that long to vet it.
But it shouldn’t have to come to that. There is no defensible reason for MGM and Burnett to sit on this footage–especially if it portrays Trump using racial or ethnic slurs. MGM and Burnett should put their country first and release the tapes. Now.