On the heels of President Donald Trump‘s endorsement of Roy Moore, anti-Trump Twitter has been relentlessly pushing a story that Donald Trump raped a 13-year-old girl.
The story is supported by zero evidence and stems from a lawsuit that was filed (and then withdrawn) by a “Jane Doe” claiming that Trump raped her in the summer of 1994 at parties hosted by convicted pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. There are many reasons to believe that Doe’s story was completely fabricated. In addition, a legal source who had discussions with the woman and investigated the claim, has confirmed to me that her story appeared to be a “fake.” It was also well-known among media insiders that major networks would never touch the case because the allegations had major veracity issues.
First, some backstory. During the heat of the campaign, this woman, who has never been identified, filed several lawsuits against then presidential nominee Donald Trump. The first of which immediately drew suspicion because she filed it “pro se” or without an attorney and the address listed for “Katie Johnson” as she calls herself in the lawsuit, was actually a foreclosed and abandoned home. “Katie Johnson” had her case dismissed by a judge.
This woman then apparently went lawyer shopping and found a patent attorney in New Jersey to represent her. She filed another suit in federal court in New York and this time used the pseudonym “Jane Doe”. After withdrawing, and then filing a new claim, Doe finally dropped her case altogether — just days before the presidential election. No one has come forward corroborating any portion of her story, and Trump has vigorously denied allegations, even going so far as to threaten going after the attorney who filed the claim.
In July 2016, a bizarre video of the woman claiming to be “Jane Doe” appeared on the web describing the alleged unwanted sexual encounter.
What makes her case even stranger is Doe suddenly cancelled a press conference that was scheduled to take place at her attorney Lisa Bloom‘s office. At the conference, she was going to speak about her allegations against Trump. Bloom said she was too scared to show her face after receiving numerous threats. However, reporters covering the case were not really convinced.
“I wasn’t surprised at Katie’s no-show. Through lawyers and handlers, I have been promised interviews on several occasions—meetings and phone calls that have been ultimately withdrawn, usually at the last minute,” explained The Daily Beast’s Brandy Zadrozny.
Additionally, the Daily Mail reported in last November:
A source with knowledge of the controversial case told DailyMail.com: ‘Katie Johnson’s account had been believable and compelling right up until the last minute.
‘But new information emerged that suggested she had not been telling the truth.
‘Ultimately it was discovered that Donald Trump’s name had been inserted into this, he was not involved whatsoever. After that she had no credibility.
Since dropping her case, Doe has not been heard from or seen in the public sphere. She has not been identified. She has not filed another lawsuit. None of the details she provided have been corroborated. Is there a slim chance her case is true? Maybe, but I think its very unlikely. I am not in anyway trying to minimize the dozens of others who have leveled ver serious claims against Trump. But, when it comes to this one, it appears we were all taken.
Despite this case being dead and the woman vanishing from the face of the planet, rumors continue to swirl that the litigation against Trump by this woman is ongoing, and that what she said is true.
The original complaint she filed in June 2016 in the Southern District of New York has been viewed nearly 3 million times. The lawsuit that was filed in California has been viewed more than 200,000 times on a pdf uploading service.
[Screengrab via MSNBC]