Trump himself has lengthy been accused of abusing or mistreating ladies and as soon as was caught bragging about grabbing ladies by the genitals. He was discovered liable by a New York Metropolis jury for sexual abuse and defamation and ultimately ordered to pay the lady, E. Jean Carroll, $83 million in damages.
Taken collectively, there are a hanging variety of incidents during which potential high-ranking authorities officers in Trump’s second administration face allegations of sexual abuse. Trump and all of his picks for presidency have denied the claims towards them, with among the individuals accused arguing the instances are pushed by politics.
With six members of the 15-plus member management staff dealing with allegations, roughly one-third of the highest White Home employees have a historical past of misconduct claims.
Right here’s a take a look at what’s identified concerning the instances:
President-elect Donald Trump
Jurors in New York final 12 months discovered Trump chargeable for sexually abusing Carroll, an recommendation columnist, in 1996.
The decision was cut up: Jurors rejected Carroll’s declare that she was raped, discovering Trump accountable for a lesser diploma of sexual abuse. Jurors additionally discovered Trump chargeable for defaming Carroll over her allegations. Trump didn’t attend the civil trial and was absent when the decision was learn.
Carroll was one among greater than a dozen ladies who’ve accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. She went public in a 2019 memoir along with her allegation that the Republican raped her within the dressing room of a fancy Manhattan division retailer.
Trump denied it, saying he by no means encountered Carroll on the retailer and didn’t know her. He has known as her a “nut job” who invented “a fraudulent and false story” to promote a memoir. He has equally denied claims by different ladies.
Pete Hegseth, nominee for secretary of protection
A lady informed police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her cellphone, blocked the door to a California resort room and refused to let her depart, in accordance with an in depth investigative report made public this week.
Hegseth informed police on the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report stated.
Information of the allegations surfaced final week when native officers launched a short assertion confirming {that a} lady had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican ladies’s occasion in Monterey.
Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, stated in an announcement that the police report confirms “what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”
Parlatore stated a fee was made to the lady as a part of a confidential settlement a number of years after the police investigation as a result of Hegseth was involved that she was ready to file a lawsuit that he feared may have resulted in him being fired from Fox Information, the place he was a preferred host. Parlatore wouldn’t reveal the quantity of the fee.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominee for secretary of well being and human providers
A lady who babysat for Kennedy and his second spouse informed Vainness Honest journal that he groped her within the late Nineteen Nineties, when she was 23. Kennedy didn’t deny the allegation, telling a podcast: “I had a very, very rambunctious youth.” He texted the lady an apology after the story was revealed.
Based on an interview the lady gave this week with USA As we speak, she stated she was babysitting for his kids at Kennedy’s residence in Mount Kisco, New York. She stated that the assault occurred quickly after she started working there. Throughout a kitchen desk assembly with Kennedy and one other particular person, she stated she felt him rubbing her leg beneath the desk.
She informed the newspaper that one other time, Kennedy, then 46, requested her to rub lotion on him when he was shirtless and he or she obliged as a result of she wished to get it over with. And he grabbed her in a kitchen pantry and groped her, blocking her exit. She stayed on the job for a number of extra months earlier than leaving.
Linda McMahon, nominee for secretary of training
A lawsuit filed final month alleges that McMahon knowingly enabled sexual exploitation of youngsters by a World Wrestling Leisure worker as early because the Eighties. She denies the allegations.
The swimsuit was filed in October in Maryland, the place a latest legislation change eradicated the state’s statute of limitations for baby intercourse abuse claims, opening the doorways for victims to sue no matter their age or how a lot time has handed.
The grievance alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, would goal younger males from deprived backgrounds and rent them as “ring boys” to assist with the preparations for wrestling matches. Phillips would then assault them in his dressing room, inns and even within the wrestlers’ locker room, in accordance with the grievance, which was filed on behalf of 5 males.
The abuse detailed within the lawsuit occurred over a number of years throughout Phillips’ lengthy tenure with the group spanning from the Nineteen Seventies to the early Nineteen Nineties. Due to his dying, Phillips shouldn’t be among the many named defendants.
As a substitute, the grievance targets WWE founders Linda McMahon and her husband Vince, who grew the group into the powerhouse it’s at present. The couple was nicely conscious of Phillips’ brazen misconduct however did little to cease him, in accordance with the grievance.
“This civil lawsuit based upon thirty-plus year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon,” stated Laura Brevetti, Linda McMahon’s lawyer, in an announcement. “The matter at the time was investigated by company attorneys and the FBI, which found no grounds to continue the investigation. Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed.”
Brevetti confirmed Linda and Vince McMahon are separated.
Elon Musk, Trump’s selection to steer the brand new Division of Authorities Effectivity
Tesla and SpaceXCEO Elon Musk was accused of sexual misconduct by a flight attendant contracted by SpaceX who labored on his personal jet in 2016. He denied the declare.
A 2022 report by Enterprise Insider stated SpaceX paid the lady $250,000 in severance in 2018 in trade for her agreeing to not file a lawsuit over her declare.
The Enterprise Insider report was primarily based on an account by the flight attendant’s good friend, who stated the flight attendant informed her concerning the incident shortly after it occurred. The report additionally stated the flight attendant was required to signal a non-disclosure settlement that prohibits her from discussing the fee or anything about Musk and SpaceX.
SpaceX didn’t reply to emails looking for remark Friday.
Musk responded to the allegations on Twitter, which he was within the course of of shopping for on the time they surfaced.
“And, for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue,” he wrote in response to 1 consumer who tweeted in assist of him.
He replied to a different: “In my 30 year career, including the entire MeToo era, there’s nothing to report, but, as soon as I say I intend to restore free speech to Twitter & vote Republican, suddenly there is …”
Matt Gaetz, who withdrew as Trump’s selection for legal professional common
The previous Florida congressman was embroiled in a intercourse trafficking investigation by the Justice Division he had been tapped to steer. He additionally was beneath scrutiny by the Home Ethics Committee over allegations together with sexual misconduct — till he resigned from Congress this week. He then withdrew his identify for consideration.
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and stated final 12 months that the Justice Division’s investigation into intercourse trafficking allegations involving underage women had ended with no federal costs towards him.
Federal investigators scrutinized a visit that Gaetz took to the Bahamas with a gaggle of girls and a health care provider who donated to his marketing campaign, and whether or not the ladies have been paid or acquired items to have intercourse with the lads, in accordance with individuals acquainted with the matter who weren’t allowed to publicly talk about the investigation.
Two ladies Home investigators that Gaetz paid them for intercourse and one of many ladies testified she noticed him having intercourse with a 17-year-old, in accordance with an legal professional for the ladies.
The committee started its evaluate of Gaetz in April 2021, deferred its work in response to a Justice Division request, and renewed its work shortly after Gaetz introduced that the Justice Division had ended a intercourse trafficking investigation.
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Related Press author Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
