Senator presses Linda McMahon on child sexual abuse lawsuit
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) pressed Linda McMahon during her Thursday confirmation hearing for Education secretary on a child sexual abuse lawsuit she is facing from her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
The lawsuit alleges that McMahon knew about an announcer who was sexually abusing ringside boys and didn’t do enough to stop it, keeping the individual employed.
“If confirmed, you will be responsible with overseeing the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, charged with ensuring equal access to education through vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws,” Baldwin said during the hearing.
“I am so concerned about whether sexual assault survivors on campus can trust you to support them,” she added.
“They certainly can trust me to support them,” McMahon replied.
The nominee, who did not directly address the WWE allegations, went on to talk about her granddaughter and two grandsons who are in college and her “deep commitment of understanding” how she would feel if they were accused or a victim of sexual harassment.
“You have my absolute commitment that I will uphold and protect those investigations to make sure those students are treated fairly on both sides,” she concluded.
The lawsuit was filed back in October, weeks before McMahon was nominated for the position by two alleged victims of the announcer in the 1980s.
The lawsuit says the boys were sexually abused by Melvin Phillips Jr., who died in 2012. It claims McMahon knew what was going on and still allowed Phillips to have a position in her company.
“This civil lawsuit based upon 30-plus-year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon,” McMahon’s attorney said at the time.
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