This past week saw New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez comment on the Justice Department's reluctance to release more information about deceased finance mogul and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

However, some of the left-wing congresswoman's critics were quick to suggest that her words might well lead to bankruptcy. 

Ocasio-Cortez labels president as "a rapist" in social media post

According to the New York Post, Ocasio-Cortez's remarks came in the form of a social media post that she put up on Friday afternoon.

Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 11, 2025

"Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?" the post read.

Ocasio-Cortez was apparently referring to the rape allegation which author E. Jean Carroll leveled at President Donald Trump in a civil lawsuit.

Observers suggest that Ocasio-Cortez has incurred "defamation liability"

Yet as the Post pointed out, the jury in Carroll's case stopped short of concluding that he had committed rape, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.

"Even under the ridiculously lenient standards of [New York] Times v. Sullivan, you’ve managed to incur defamation liability. Wow," Lee wrote in a post of his own.

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan was a landmark 1964 Supreme Court decision concerning defamation suits filed by public figures.

Among its findings was that in order to prevail, a plaintiff must show that a defendant made defamatory statements which he or she knew or should have known to have been false.

ABC News host George Stephanopoulos was sued for falsely accusing Trump of rape

Conservative activist and high-profile Trump ally Laura Loomer spoke up as well, stating, "This is defamatory. And I hope you are sued by Trump for this the same way George Stephanopoulos was sued and forced to pay Trump $15 million dollars."

The Post recalled how Stephanopoulos and ABC News agreed to pay Trump’s presidential library foundation $15 million along with an additional $1 million worth of attorney's fees.

The agreement came after after Stephanopoulos was sued for falsely insisting during an interview with South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace that Trump had indeed raped Carroll.

Legal analyst Phil Holloway offered a similar perspective, asserting, "The President should sue AOC into bankruptcy. I realize she’s trying to raise her profile but this is way way too far."