Congressional Tweet Sparks Legal Warnings After President Trump’s Previous Win Against ABC News
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) ignited a social media firestorm Friday after publicly labeling President Donald Trump “a rapist” on X, prompting widespread calls for a defamation lawsuit and drawing sharp comparisons to a recent multi-million dollar settlement involving ABC News.
The controversy erupted when Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files, tweeting, “Wow, who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?” The comment, widely understood to refer to Trump, quickly went viral, attracting both support and fierce condemnation.
READ: AOC Ignites Firestorm, Brands Trump A “Rapist” Amid Epstein File Fallout
Critics, including Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), swiftly pointed out that while Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a 2023 civil trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, he was not found liable for rape under New York’s specific legal definition. This crucial distinction, Ocasio-Cortez’s detractors argue, makes her tweet potentially defamatory.
“Even under the ridiculously lenient standards of NY Times v. Sullivan, you’ve managed to incur defamation liability. Wow,” Sen. Lee posted on X, referencing the landmark Supreme Court libel case.
The backlash intensified as many on social media recalled ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos’s own recent legal woes.
Last year, Trump sued the network and Stephanopoulos after the host similarly asserted Trump had been “found liable for rape.”
In December 2024, ABC reportedly settled the case for a staggering $16 million, including $15 million to Trump’s Presidential Library Foundation and an additional $1 million in legal expenses, along with a public apology.
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“This is defamatory,” Trump ally Laura Loomer declared on X, adding, “And I hope you are sued by Trump for this the same way George Stephanopoulos was sued and forced to pay Trump $15 million dollars.” Legal analyst Phil Holloway echoed the sentiment, tweeting, “The President should sue AOC into bankruptcy.”
The White House Communication Director, Steven Cheung, issued a scathing statement, deriding Ocasio-Cortez as a “sad, miserable blockhead” suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
As of Saturday evening, Ocasio-Cortez has not removed the controversial tweet nor publicly responded to the mounting criticism. The incident reignites the ongoing debate surrounding public figures’ statements on social media and the thin line between protected speech and actionable defamation, especially when it concerns highly publicized legal outcomes. Sources
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