[Baltimore Sun] Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for education secretary, accused in Baltimore County of negligence over child sex abuse
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Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Education, is accused in a Baltimore County civil complaint of fostering a culture of abuse within the WWE.
According to court records, a tort claim over negligence was filed Oct. 23 that names five Johns Does as plaintiffs and WWE Entertainment, parent company TWKO Group Holdings as well as Linda and Vince McMahon as defendants in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit accuses the WWE and its founders of looking the other way while a longtime ringside announcer preyed on young men he hired as “ring boys.”
The suit was filed after the state’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims was eliminated in 2023, and the complaint alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, assaulted boys in his dressing room, hotels and locker rooms. Phillips worked for WWE from the 1970s to the early 1990s.The McMahons were well aware of Phillips’ misconduct but did little to stop him, the complaint alleges, according to AP, and the plaintiffs were between 13 and 15 when they met Phillips.
An attorney representing Vince McMahon, Jessica Rosenberg, told the AP last month that the claims were false.
“We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded,” Rosenberg said in a statement.
Attorneys for both sides did not return requests for comment late Thursday.
Laura Brevetti, an attorney for Linda McMahon, called the allegations false in a response to a CNN report.
“This civil lawsuit based upon thirty-plus year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon,” Brevetti told CNN. “Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed.”
McMahon previously led the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump.
Have a news tip? Contact Dillon Mullan at dmullan@baltsun.com, 302-842-3818 or @DillonMullan on X.
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