I’m sure that all of you remember how ABC and George Stephanopoulos entered into a $15 million settlement with Donald Trump, plus providing an apology, after George S repeatedly called Donald Trump a “rapist.” Trump was never tried or found guilty of rape, and calling him a “rapist” was and is pure defamation. (And that’s entirely separate from the peculiarities in E. Jean Carroll’s narrative.)
It seems, though, that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“AOC”) missed out on that whole $15 million dollars thing. On Sunday, in one of a series of anti-Trump rants, AOC explicitly called Trump a rapist. Many instantly noted what she’d done and reminded Trump that he should sue her:
All these journalists are like, congressman, are you going to the inauguration, congresswoman, are you going to the inauguration? You going to the inauguration? Let me make myself clear. I don’t celebrate rapists. So no, I’m not going to the inauguration now.
AOC clapped back with some snide, stupid bravado. To those living in reality-world, it was clear that Libs of TikTok was neither triggered nor crying but was, instead, celebrating that AOC has opened herself up to financial destruction and humiliation:
In any event, AOC’s little insult-fest won’t protect her when the subpoena arrives. This is a slam-dunk case.
Also, in case you were wondering, AOC cannot claim that she is immune to a defamation suit because she is a member of Congress. That immunity extends only to remarks made on the floor of the House or Senate Chambers. Thus, in Art. 1, Sec. 6 of the Constitution, it says,
They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
To the extent that AOC was quite clearly speaking from her bedroom or some other non-congressional venue, her slanderous statement is completely open to a lawsuit.
It’s to be hoped that Donald Trump comes into his second term loaded for bear on every front. If he shows weakness now, he’s done. Game theory says that when your opponent changes the rules to win (i.e., cheats), you must apply his own rules to him with such fury that he begs for a return to the status quo. If Democrats want lawfare, let them get lawfare, not on specious grounds, but on real ones.
Oh, one other thing...
AOC isn’t being strictly accurate when she says that she doesn’t “celebrate rapists.” On October 7, 2023, members of Hamas engaged in the mass rape of Israeli women (and, allegedly, some men). This is not hearsay or rumor. Hamas members and the Gaza civilians who followed them into Israel proudly videotaped and photographed their exploits. All reports are that Hamas and its fellow travelers in Gaza continued these rapes against the women hostages they held.
Those undeniable facts are a problem for Ms. “I don’t celebrate rapists,” because, in the wake of October 7, she threw her support behind the pro-Hamas campus protests:
If that’s not celebrating rapists, I don’t know what is.
AOC is a female Obama. She’s nice to look at and speaks fairly well. She’s also dedicated to evil ideologies and America’s destruction. To see her sidelined by a well-deserved defamation lawsuit would be a wonderful and just thing.
