Overview

• Ocasio-Cortez’s post on X branding President Trump a rapist has exceeded ten million views since July 11
• Conservative commentators and MAGA backers argue the label is defamatory because Trump has no criminal rape conviction and was only found civilly liable for E. Jean Carroll’s abuse in 2023
• The DOJ and FBI’s July 6 memo confirmed Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and found no client list implicating prominent figures
• Legal observers point to George Stephanopoulos’s $15 million settlement with Trump over a similar defamation claim as a possible precedent
• Internal MAGA tensions have surfaced between figures like Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino over the Epstein report and the push for legal action