A panel on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday defended Donald Trump from a report in the Daily Beast that dredged up old details about the Republican presidential candidate's messy divorce in the 1980s.

The report, published online this week, recalled testimony by Trump's now-ex-wife Ivana, accusing Trump of "rape" during the former couple's divorce. It quoted an attorney for Trump, who told the reporter of the story, Tim Mak, "You cannot rape your spouse."

"People get really angry in divorces," said "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough, who recently went through a divorce. "They say a lot of things in divorces. High-profile divorces, especially. So, this was unfortunate."

Mak, who was on the show via satellite, said the story was important because of Trump's front-runner status in the GOP presidential primary race. "When you have one of his top advisers, who is a lawyer, saying there's no such thing as spousal rape, that by definition it doesn't exist, that's alarming," Mak said.

Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, has since apologized for his comment about being unable to rape a spouse and Trump himself has said Cohen was speaking for himself with the remark. Ivana, Trump's ex-wife, has also said the Daily Beast story is "without merit."

"You guys all let me know when you're actually going to uncover something new," said "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski.

Harold Ford, Jr., a Democrat on the panel, said Trump "deserves to be defended" from the Daily Beast's story. "If this is the best the press has against him, he's going to be around a little longer than some have predicted. In fact, he'll find himself in the spotlight, legitimately so, for a longer period of time."