Warning: This article talks about disturbing subject matter. Readers should use discretion when following hyperlinks the author has provided as they may contain graphic descriptions of violence.
Thursday night, Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party's nomination for the president of the United States with a seventy-seven minute speech including his popular fear-mongering on the subject of illegal immigrants. Previously, he has accused undocumented people in the United States of being rapists, but maybe he should take a long look at himself in the mirror before throwing around that claim. To date, three women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, two of which have entered legal proceedings against the business tycoon, though you probably haven't heard their stories on CNN or Fox News.
First, Trump's first wife, Ivana, said under oath that she had been violently attacked and raped by Trump in a deposition for their divorce in 1989. Michael Cohen, a special counsel for Trump. backed him saying that rape of a spouse was neither possible nor legally actionable. Later, Ivana recanted this statement publicly and according to Huffington Post, this could be due to a nondisparagement agreement commonly included in high profile divorce settlements.
Secondly, Jill Harth alleged in a lawsuit in 1997 that Trump "groped" her and committed actions which constituted attempted rape. Harth withdrew her claim, under pressure from her husband at the time, without prejudice, meaning that she could re-file the case in the future, but has never denied that the events took place, and as of 2016 says she stands by her claims.
Finally, and perhaps most concerning, a new case brought forward by Katie Johnson alleges that Trump had sex with her numerous times while she was thirteen years old in 1994 at parties of Trump's friend, convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The statute of limitations has run out on the case, but is currently moving forward under the argument that the limit should be waived, as the plaintiff says she was afraid to come forward after Trump threatened to hurt her and her family.
But why haven't we heard this? This smells of a scandal that normally would be getting wall-to-wall coverage by now, but instead we get silence. Some have dismissed these claims as a cheap ploy to prevent a Donald Trump presidency. Tom Meagher, attorney for Katie Johnson, was asked about this, and responded, "Of course, she does not want her rapist to be president."
Lisa Bloom, legal representative for Jill Harth, has another idea on the media blackout of her client:
I don't know if any of these allegations are true, and I don't think it's my place to say anyway, but what I do know, is that you are much more likely to hear Hillary Clinton denigrated for her husband's past infidelity than you are to hear Donald Trump called out for not one, not two, but three women accusing him of sexual assault. Whether it's straight up fear or straight up misogyny, at the very least, these women deserve to have their stories heard to their rightful conclusions.