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.
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.
Mr. Adams was sued just last week, accused of sexual assault in 1993. According to the summons, the plaintiff and Mr. Adams were both working for the city at that time.
“The mayor does not know who this person 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.
“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.”
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.
President Trump has denied any wrongdoing and had countersued Ms. Carroll for defamation, but the lawsuit was dismissed.
