After nearly a decade of silence, the attorney who represented the anonymous woman known as “Katie Johnson”—the Jane Doe who accused Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein of raping her at age 13 in 1994—is finally speaking out, insisting there’s “no doubt in my mind she told the truth.”h

In October 2025, journalist Tara Palmeri published an investigative report titled “The Disappearing Epstein Jane Doe,” featuring an interview with one of the attorneys who represented the anonymous plaintiff known as “Katie Johnson” (or Jane Doe) in her 2016 civil lawsuit against Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.

The attorney—identified in reporting as Patrick Mason—stated that after multiple days of questioning the woman, sending private investigators to verify elements of her story, and reviewing her claims, he remained convinced of her credibility, saying there was “no doubt in my mind she told the truth” about being raped by both men in 1994 when she was 13.

The lawsuit, originally filed pro se in California in April 2016 (dismissed on technical grounds), was refiled in New York with counsel (including attorneys Thomas Meagher, Evan Goldman, and briefly Lisa Bloom). It alleged violent sexual assaults at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse during underage parties, supported by affidavits from anonymous witnesses “Tiffany Doe” (a purported Epstein recruiter) and “Joan Doe” (a classmate).

A press conference scheduled for November 2, 2016, where the plaintiff planned to appear publicly, was abruptly canceled due to reported death threats. The case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice two days later, on November 4, 2016—just before the presidential election—with no settlement or adjudication on the merits.

The allegations have long been controversial and widely questioned due to:

• Links to Norm Lubow, a former Jerry Springer producer with a history of promoting disputed celebrity scandals (he shopped a disguised video of the plaintiff for $1 million under a pseudonym).
• Inconsistencies in early filings (e.g., a fake address and phone number in the initial California complaint).
• Some attorneys (including Goldman) never directly meeting or speaking to the plaintiff.
• Timing and promotion by anti-Trump figures.

Trump’s team, via attorney Alan Garten, called the claims “categorically untrue” and “politically motivated” at the time. No criminal charges were ever filed, and the plaintiff has not been heard from publicly since 2016. The story resurfaced in 2025 amid Epstein document releases, but no new evidence corroborated the specific allegations against Trump, and courts never ruled on their substance.

While the attorney’s 2025 statement reaffirms his personal belief in the accuser, the case remains unresolved and heavily disputed, often described in media and fact-checks as unsubstantiated or tied to hoax-like elements.