Did Ivana Trump ever file a police report or lawsuit alleging sexual assault by Donald Trump?
Executive summary
Ivana Trump did accuse Donald Trump of a violent sexual incident in divorce proceedings in the early 1990s, describing an episode from 1989 that she later softened and publicly walked back, but there is no public record in the reviewed reporting that she filed a separate police report or pursued a standalone criminal or civil lawsuit charging him with rape or sexual assault beyond the allegations made in divorce testimony [1] [2] [3]. Journalists and legal summaries note the claim appeared in divorce-related depositions and later in books and reporting, and that Ivana subsequently disavowed the more explicit language in public comments [1] [4] [3].
1. The core allegation: what Ivana said in divorce testimony
In depositions tied to the Trumps’ 1990 divorce, Ivana described an incident from 1989 in which she said she felt “violated” and, according to some reporting and a 1993 book, used language that has been characterized as alleging rape; the claim was made in the context of divorce papers and testimony rather than as a separate criminal filing [1] [3] [4]. News organizations and summaries have repeatedly cited that deposition language as the source for the allegation, and those accounts present it as part of civil divorce discovery rather than a police complaint [1] [2].
2. Retractions and softening: Ivana’s later public statements
After the allegation became public—through reporting and later books—Ivana publicly softened or walked back the characterization, saying the earlier comments were made during a time of “very high tension” and were “totally without merit” in later endorsements and statements, which media outlets have quoted [1] [3]. Reporting highlights that Ivana altered her description over time, moving from the harsher language reported in some sources to a less literal framing of what happened [3] [4].
3. Police reports and lawsuits: what the record shows (and does not show)
Available reporting reviewed here indicates Ivana’s allegation appeared in divorce deposition and related civil records, but journalists and fact-checkers who examined the matter do not identify a separate police report or an independent criminal or tort lawsuit filed by Ivana accusing Donald Trump of rape or sexual assault outside the divorce context [2] [5] [6]. Legal analyses and timelines that catalog the many public accusations against Donald Trump consistently list Ivana’s claim as part of divorce litigation and note she later recanted or softened the language, rather than pointing to a prosecution or standalone civil suit by her [1] [7].
4. How other outlets have framed Ivana’s allegation and why it matters
Major outlets that summarize Trump’s sexual-misconduct allegations treat Ivana’s statement as a noteworthy early claim but distinguish it from later, separately filed suits by other women; those outlets emphasize that most early statements were never the subject of police prosecutions and that Ivana’s comments took place in divorce deposition rather than in criminal filings [2] [8]. Some legal commentators and book authors have described the deposition language as severe, while contemporaneous denials from Trump and later public walkbacks by Ivana complicate straightforward interpretation [3] [4].
5. Unsealed records, renewed scrutiny, and limits of public reporting
There have been subsequent efforts by journalists and institutions to access or unseal divorce records to clarify the record, and legal analysts have noted New York’s rules can limit public access to family court materials, meaning the full text of filings may not be readily available in the public domain without court orders [6]. Reporting compiled here therefore reflects what media and fact-checkers have been able to verify from depositions, books and public statements; it does not purport to exhaustively catalog sealed documents that may remain unavailable [6].
6. Bottom line and alternative viewpoints
The bottom-line reporting consensus is that Ivana made an allegation in the context of divorce testimony and later softened it, and there is no verified public record in the reviewed sources of Ivana filing a separate police report or independent criminal or civil lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault apart from the divorce proceedings; proponents of deeper scrutiny point to sealed records and contemporary reporting as reasons to seek more disclosure, while others emphasize Ivana’s later public recantation or clarification when assessing the significance of the original deposition statements [1] [6] [5].