Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) may find herself in some serious legal trouble after a post she made on Friday that could be considered defamation of character. In the post, Ocasio-Cortez referred to President Donald Trump as a rapist, suggesting that is the reason the administration has not released the Epstein files.
“Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files,” the New York Democrat wrote on X. Users on the platform immediately pointed out the potential legal consequences of making such a statement.
One user replied to the post saying, “Very weird that none of those allegations came out until he was running for president. Also, I’m pretty sure this is libel and an easily winnable case at that.”
Another said, “Given that other more high-profile commentators than you have called him that, and then been successfully sued, I think you’re in some difficulty here.”
“Donald Trump has not been criminally convicted of rape. As a congress woman, with such broad reach, you should be aware of this and act and speak appropriately. This is defamation,” a third said.
This isn’t the first time AOC has referred to President Trump as a rapist. In a series of rants against the president published on TikTok in January before the inauguration, she said she would skip the event because she doesn’t “celebrate rapists.”
“All these journalists are like, ‘Congresswoman, are you going to the inauguration? Congresswoman, are you going to the inauguration? Are you going to the inauguration?’” Ocasio-Cortez went on to say in the video.
“Let me make myself clear,” she said, going on to add, “I don’t celebrate rapists. So no, I’m not going to the inauguration tomorrow.”A report from The Hill noted that AOC, who many on the left have deemed the future of the Democratic Party, was referring to with her “rapists” comment. As was stated above, President Trump has never been convicted of any sexual assault.The report hypothesized that the New York Democrat was referencing a jury finding from May 2023. The finding stated that Trump was found not liable for rape under New York law in the case of writer E. Jean Carroll. The case stemmed from an incident alleged to have occurred in the 1990s.
It must be noted that this trial was civil, not criminal in nature.