Scott Stringer Sues for Defamation Over Sexual Assault Claim - The New York Times

Nearly 20 months aft allegations of unwanted intersexual advances derailed his run for New York City mayor, Scott M. Stringer sued 1 of his accusers for defamation connected Monday, arguing that she smeared his estimation with falsehoods and misrepresentations.

In a suit filed successful State Supreme Court successful Manhattan, Mr. Stringer said that the woman, Jean Kim, had done “irreparable harm to him and his governmental future” by portraying what helium called an “on-and-off” consensual narration arsenic predatory. He demanded that Ms. Kim retract her accusations and wage damages.

“These defamatory statements person caused Mr. Stringer affectional symptom and suffering, arsenic good arsenic wounded to his reputation, grant and dignity,” lawyers for Mr. Stinger, a longtime Democratic person and erstwhile New York City comptroller, wrote successful the 12-page complaint.

The ineligible enactment appears to beryllium a calculated hazard for Mr. Stringer, 62. If successful, it could assistance wide up his nationalist representation arsenic helium contemplates a governmental comeback. But it besides serves to resurface Ms. Kim’s decades-old claims of misconduct, portion posing the hazard of an embarrassing ineligible decision and reopening scrutiny into an earlier section successful his life.

Defamation cases are notoriously hard to prove, particularly for nationalist figures. To adjacent get his lawsuit heard successful court, Mr. Stringer indispensable get astir New York’s statute of limitations for defamation, and his lawyers are relying connected a comparatively caller ineligible mentation to bash so.

They wrote successful the suit that the substance was reopened legally successful August 2022, erstwhile they asseverate — with scant item — that Ms. Kim caused Representative Carolyn Maloney to resurface her defamatory connection against Mr. Stringer.

The factual and ineligible issues are peculiarly applicable astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile New York and the state are inactive grappling with balancing the claims of women propelled by the #MeToo question against the close to owed process, and appraising what should hap to nationalist figures similar Mr. Stringer who are accused of misconduct decades aft the fact.

Ms. Kim, done a lawyer, declined to remark connected the suit.

In an interrogation connected Friday, Mr. Stringer said that helium decided to instrumentality ineligible enactment now, aft a needed “cooling-off period” for his family, to salvage his reputation. He acknowledged that waiting truthful agelong aft the archetypal statements whitethorn person constrained his options legally.

“There are times you could conscionable locomotion away,” Mr. Stringer said. “But it was a lie. It was conscionable a full lie. And I can’t unrecorded with myself if I did not bash everything successful my powerfulness to exposure it.”

Ms. Kim came guardant successful April 2021, successful the vigor of the Democratic superior for mayor. At the time, Mr. Stringer, a wide who had dilatory risen done the ranks of metropolis politics, was considered a top-tier campaigner for the nomination, though helium seldom led aboriginal nationalist polls.

In a quality league and media interviews, Ms. Kim said that Mr. Stringer sexually assaulted her successful 2001 erstwhile she was moving arsenic an unpaid intern connected his unsuccessful run for nationalist advocate. She said Mr. Stringer, past a authorities assemblyman whom she viewed arsenic an older mentor figure, repeatedly groped her without consent, enactment his hands down the backmost of her pants, pressured her to person enactment — and past warned her not to archer anyone.

“He perpetually reminded maine of his powerfulness by saying things like, ‘You privation maine to marque a telephone telephone for you to alteration your life,’ ‘You privation maine to marque you the archetypal Asian territory leader,’” Ms. Kim aboriginal told The New York Times.

Many prominent supporters rapidly backed away from his campaign. Mr. Stringer stayed successful the race, but yet finished 5th successful a superior predetermination won by Eric Adams, who went connected to go mayor.

Mr. Stringer disputed Ms. Kim’s account, saying they were peers and that their narration had been consensual and nationalist wrong the choky circles of Upper West Side Democratic politics. His run besides presented documents that showed that Ms. Kim, who has worked arsenic a governmental lobbyist, mightiness person helped 1 of Mr. Stringer’s rivals, Andrew Yang, which she disputed.

Monday’s suit mostly repeats the conflicting stories without caller evidence, and seeks to item factual errors oregon inconsistencies successful Ms. Kim’s claims.

It remains unclear if Ms. Kim’s mentation of events tin beryllium independently corroborated; she has not provided immoderate records, nor has she mentioned associates with whom she discussed the allegations astatine the time.

Defamation, peculiarly cases involving nationalist figures similar Mr. Stringer, tin beryllium hard to prove, and the contradictory claims by Ms. Kim and Mr. Stringer — involving shifting intersexual and romanticist mores, governmental powerfulness and fewer hard pieces of grounds — lone adhd to that burden.

Mr. Stringer appears to person adjacent much pressing ineligible burdens, with Ms. Kim apt to reason for dismissal due to the fact that her archetypal statements autumn extracurricular New York’s statute of limitations.

His statement that the timeline was restarted successful August rests connected photos connected societal media that seemingly amusement Ms. Kim astatine a run lawsuit with Ms. Maloney, who was moving successful a superior contention against Representative Jerrold Nadler, a longtime mentor of Mr. Stringer’s.

Two weeks later, the congresswoman attacked Mr. Nadler successful The New York Post for supporting “a antheral accused of intersexual assault.” The suit argues that it should person been “reasonably foreseeable” for Ms. Kim that Ms. Maloney would “republish” her claims aft their meeting.

Legal experts, though, said that the exertion of the mentation known arsenic “republication” would beryllium ripe for situation connected aggregate grounds. Though the suit insinuates that Ms. Kim someway prompted Ms. Maloney’s statement, Mr. Stringer’s lawyers ne'er really authorities what, if anything, she told the congresswoman to promote oregon nonstop her to notation Mr. Stringer.

“The allegations successful the ailment of republication are truly thin,” said Lee Levine, a retired media lawyer with decades of acquisition litigating defamation cases, including immoderate for The Times.

“If there’s nary wide grounds that the suspect directed the 3rd enactment to marque the statement, it’s reasonably apt the lawsuit would beryllium dismissed,” helium said, adding that connected its face, Ms. Maloney’s connection successful August appeared to beryllium “an close study that allegations were made.”

Mr. Stringer and his lawyers were intelligibly alert of the statutory limits. The suit filed connected Monday made nary notation of a 2nd woman, Teresa Logan, who followed Ms. Kim’s allegations by accusing Mr. Stringer of kissing and groping her astatine a barroom helium helped recovered successful the 1990s. That instance, Mr. Stringer conceded, was intelligibly extracurricular the statute of limitations.

Mr. Stringer said successful 2021 that helium had “no memory” of the pistillate but added that if they had met, helium was atrocious to person made her uncomfortable.

If the lawsuit proceeds, Mr. Stringer and his allies judge the find process volition crook up caller and applicable accusation related to Ms. Kim’s actions and whether she coordinated her nationalist statements with immoderate of his governmental rivals.

Mr. Stringer is represented successful the suit by Milton L. Williams Jr., a erstwhile national authoritative and white-collar transgression defence lawyer who presently serves arsenic the seat of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board.

After his loss, Mr. Stringer finished retired his word arsenic comptroller past December and began a consulting practice. But helium astir instantly began discussing a governmental comeback.

He went arsenic acold arsenic to briefly run for a State Senate seat successful Manhattan this spring, but helium ne'er really entered the race. Allies inactive judge helium should beryllium considered a imaginable heir to Mr. Nadler should the congressman determine to retire.

Still, the accusations of misconduct would astir surely complicate immoderate effort to instrumentality to nationalist office.

“Right now, I don’t person immoderate plans to tally for office. It’s thing I’m not ruling retired someday,” Mr. Stringer said. “This suit is what’s successful beforehand of maine astatine the moment.”