Both Political Wire and Huffington Post are reporting that the woman who has accused Donald Trump of raping her as a 13 year old minor will be going public about her accusations today at 6:00 pm EDT, 3:00 PDT. To date the woman has maintained her anonymity, filing her lawsuit as Jane Doe. Many news sources have declined coverage of her claims, not wanting to cite an anonymous source.
She has filed suit twice. The first suit, in California, was dismissed on technical grounds, likely a statute of limitations problem or failure to properly state a claim as HuffPo reports. The case was later re-filed in New York which has no statute of limitations on rape claims. Apparently unrepresented in the California action, the woman is now represented by Lisa Bloom, Gloria Allred’s daughter, in the New York case.
The alleged rape is said to have happened in 1994 when the woman was 13 and Trump would have been in his late forties. The allegations appear to be tied to Jeffrey Epstein, whom Trump has complimented in the past. Epstein is best known as a procurer of young girls for the wealthy and famous. He has a conviction and some prison time to show for his efforts. Trump’s famous, in some circles, alleged quote about Epstein is,
“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy…He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it ? Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
To note, there are many questions about the credibility of the account of Trump and the 13 year old. It could be more rumor and smear than fact, but it’s great tabloid fodder, and never has there been a campaign more ripe for tabloid fodder than this one. The next court date is a status hearing set for December 16.
Now this UPDATE from Twitter:
Press conference cancelled, Jane Doe has received numerous threats, afraid to show her face. -Lisa Bloom
For more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-rape-case_us_581a31a5e4b0c43e6c1d9834?h2bhwth1ccjgzxgvi
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.