Rape Lawsuit Against Donald Trump: Truth or Smear Campaign?

A California woman accused Trump of raping her when she was a minor in 1994.

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Texas. (Photo: AP)

After being dismissed by a Los Angeles Federal Court last month, the rape lawsuit against Donald Trump has made headlines again – this time in a Manhattan Federal Court, reported New York Daily News.

Trump was accused by a California woman that he raped her when she was an underage teen in 1994.

“Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened me that, were I ever to reveal any of the details of Defendant Trump’s sexual and physical abuse of me, my family and I would be physically harmed if not killed,” the plaintiff said in an affidavit.

Trump has continuously denounced the allegations, calling them “categorically false” and “disgusting.”

In the new lawsuit, some of the previous charges have been dropped.

The allegation that Trump offered her money for an abortion, and that Trump called co-defendant and accused pedophile and sex party host Jeffrey Epstein a “Jew bastard,” are gone.

The central allegation, however, remains – that Trump and Epstein sexually assaulted her at a series of Manhattan sex parties in 1994.

Could This Be a Smear Campaign?

In an attempt to explain how this news has been gaining headlines, online magazine Jezebel says, “the facts speak less to a scandal and more, perhaps, to an attempt at a smear – one that finally, after months of clumsy maneuvering, is gaining speed.”

Explaining its stance, the article talks of how a cadre of male tipsters have been emailing several media outlets of this rape story for almost a year now, but any attempts to interview the supposed victim are met with refusal.

In early June, Jezebel was separately sent an unsolicited tip from an organization calling itself Vote Trump Get Dumped. I responded to the email, asking how to get in touch with Katie Johnson. I was never put in touch with Katie Johnson. Instead, I directed to call a passionate, politically involved conservative named Steve Baer because “he can probably get you a call with her.”

The article goes on to explain how despite the fact that Trump’s “public attitude towards women is repugnant,” it cannot be used to justify hoax campaigns against him, which this probably could be.