The Daily Beast published an article tonight under the headline: "Ex-Wife: Donald Trump Made Me Feel 'Violated' During Sex." Writer Tim Mak and Brandy Zadrozny detailed a harrowing encounter between presidential candidate Donald Trump and his then-wife in 1989, which Ivana Trump later referred to as "rape" in a deposition for their divorce case.
The alleged assault also appears in the book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump, written by Harry Hurt III. In it, Hurt described a "violent assault" that took place after Donald had scalp reduction surgery from a plastic surgeon Ivana previously used. "Your fucking doctor has ruined me!" he allegedly yelled at Ivana.
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It's a horrific tale of spousal abuse that Donald flat-out denied the year Hurt's book was published ("It's obviously false," he said, according to Newsday), but even more concerning is the reaction that Mak and Zadrozny received from Donald's legal counsel while they reported this story.
Sprinkled throughout the Daily Beast article are threats and insults that Michael Cohen from the Trump Organization lobbed at the writers. He warned the writers that a lawsuit would follow if they printed an article about the rape allegations:
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Cohen disputed that Ivana meant "rape" in the "literal" sense—arguing instead that she meant that she felt "raped emotionally"—and called the writers "idiot[s]:"
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As of this writing, it's not known Donald's lawyers have slapped Daily Beast with a lawsuit—and the presidential candidate has yet to address or respond to the story publicly. But one thing that's confusing is Ivana's testimony; Mak and Zadrozny reported that in 1993, Ivana backpedaled her earlier description of the assault in a statement, released through Donald's lawyers, that would eventually be printed inside of Hurt's book:
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In 1990, the couple finalized their divorce, under the condition that Ivana not talk about their marriage without Donald's permission.
[via the Daily Beast]
