Federal authorities are investigating Vince McMahon for sexual assault and sex trafficking.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that an investigation is ongoing and follows the disclosure that a search warrant was issued for McMahon’s phone last July and delivered a subpoena for “documents related to any allegation of rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, commercial sex transaction, harassment or discrimination”, per the Wall Street Journal.
Reporters Joe Palazzolo, Khadeeja Safdar, and Ted Mann noted in the latest piece that prosecutors in New York have contacted women who had previously accused McMahon of sexual misconduct.
Last week, former employee Janel Grant filed a civil suit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE alleging sexual assault, sexual trafficking, and incurring physical and emotional abuse with horrific details of the abuse and trauma sustained.
One day later, McMahon resigned as Executive Chairman of TKO while denying the accusations and stating he would vigorously defend himself. He told the Wall Street Journal that the federal investigation will not find any wrongdoing.
From the Wall Street Journal:
The other women named in the grand jury subpoena include a WWE contractor whom McMahon allegedly sent unsolicited nude photos and sexually harassed; a former WWE wrestler who said McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex; former WWE referee Rita Chatterton, who publicly accused McMahon of raping her; a spa manager who said McMahon assaulted her at a Southern California resort; and a former WWE employee who alleged the head of talent relations at the company at the time, John Laurinaitis, demoted her after she broke off an affair with him.
On Wednesday, Laurinaitis’ lawyer Edward Brennan told VICE News that Laurinaitis denies the allegations and cited Laurinaitis as a victim in this case, not a predator. He sent the following e-mail to the Wall Street Journal:
Count how many times in the complaint Vince exerts control over both the Plaintiff and Johnny.
It’s a good complaint. It just doesn’t list all the victims, including Johnny.
The only identities of the women involved with NDAs that are publicly known are Janel Grant and Rita Chatterton, who settled with McMahon in 2022 for an undisclosed amount. Chatterton came forward in 1992 and alleged that she was raped by McMahon inside a limousine in July 1986, which McMahon denied.
