Former President Donald Trump offered rare support to two Democrats in a social media post on Wednesday, urging New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to fight back against new lawsuits brought against them under the state’s Adult Survivors Act.
The law waived the statute of limitations for sexual offense lawsuits for one year. It went into effect in 2022, and the window to bring forth civil petitions ended this month, seeing some 3,700 lawsuits filed for sexual offenses that occurred at any time. Among those sued were several celebrities and politicians.
“I hope that Mayor Eric Adam’s, Andrew Cuomo, and all of the others that got sued based on this ridiculous law where someone can be sued decades later, and with no proof, will fight it on being totally unfair and UNCONSTITUTIONAL,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social.
After the one-year window was opened, President Trump himself was sued by writer E. Jean Carroll and found guilty of “sexual battery” earlier this year and ordered to pay $5 million. It was the second of two lawsuits Ms. Carroll had brought against President Trump, the first being a defamation lawsuit she filed after President Trump publicly denounced her accusations of sexual assault sometime in the early 1990s inside an upscale department store.
On social media, President Trump claimed the lawsuits against him, including those by Ms. Carroll, were election interference. He has frequently rebutted cases against him as attempts to stall his campaign for reelection in 2024; meanwhile, his poll numbers and favorability continue to rise.
“I got sued, decades later (she has no idea when her made up event took place!), by a woman—I HAD NO IDEA WHO SHE WAS. It was a made up fairytale that was brought and funded by political operatives for purposes of Election Interference,” he said.
is,” a City Hall spokesperson told CNN. “If they ever met, he doesn’t recall it. But he would never do anything to physically harm another person and vigorously denies any such claim.”
Mr. Cuomo was also sued last week, by his former executive assistant when he served as governor. Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women who told the New York Attorney General’s office in 2021 that the governor routinely sexually harassed his staff. At the time, Ms. Commisso had spoken anonymously. Her recent petition alleges Mr. Cuomo touched and harassed her, and that she was punished for reporting the incidents.
He stepped down in August 2021 amid the investigation, and Gov. Kathy Hochul was sworn in. Ms. Hochul signed the Adult Survivors Act in May 2022.
Mr. Cuomo had denied the accusations and announced he was resigning to avoid being a “distraction” in the governance of the state.
“The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government,” he stated at the time, adding that he believed the accusations were “politically motivated.”
He has continued to be involved in politics, recently commenting on events and media on the Israel–Hamas war.
Trump Lawsuit
President Trump had made multiple unsuccessful attempts to dismiss the lawsuits by Ms. Carrol, as well as multiple unsuccessful attempts to delay the upcoming trial in the first of her two lawsuits against him.
The trial begins on Jan. 15, 2024, and will only deal with how much President Trump will need to pay in damages, as a judge has already ruled against him in the case.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of New York has presided over both cases brought by Ms. Carroll against President Trump and ruled in a summary judgment that because the facts were the same in both cases, the guilty verdict in one case would result in a guilty verdict in the other case.
The judge ruled President Trump liable for defamation, and Ms. Carroll has since amended her lawsuit to demand $10 million in damages.
President Trump has denied any wrongdoing and had countersued Ms. Carroll for defamation, but the lawsuit was dismissed.
Source : The Epoch Times