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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) faced intense backlash on social media after referring to President Trump as “a rapist” in a tweet, prompting many to suggest her remarks could open the door to a defamation lawsuit from the president.
The controversy erupted Friday after Ocasio-Cortez posted the comment in response to the Justice Department announcement earlier in the week that there would be no further release of any files related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X, likely referring to Trump and the 2023 civil trial where a court found him civilly liable for sexual abuse against writer E. Jean Carroll.
However, Trump was not found liable for rape in the case—a key distinction the congresswoman failed to acknowledge, prompting many on social media to urge the president to sue the self-described “Bronx girl” for defamation, the New York Post reported.
“Even under the ridiculously lenient standards of NY Times v. Sullivan, you’ve managed to incur defamation liability. Wow,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X, referring to the landmark 1964 Supreme Court libel case.
“George Stephanopoulos might advise you to take down this tweet,” another person posted.
