What specific affidavits and witness statements were included in the Katie Johnson court filings and where can they be read?
Executive summary
The 2016 federal filings filed under Katie Johnson v. Donald J. Trump (C.D. Cal. No. 5:16‑cv‑00797) primarily consist of a civil complaint that names material witnesses by pseudonym and routine docket filings such as a request to proceed in forma pauperis with a supporting declaration; the complaint itself identifies at least one named potential sworn witness, “Tiffany Doe,” and references other pseudonymous juvenile witnesses such as “Maria Doe” [1] [2]. The core document and docket listings can be read on public court‑document repositories including CourtListener and an archived full text of the complaint on Archive.org, with mirror copies available on Plainsite, Scribd and SlideShare [2] [1] [3] [4] [5].
1. The complaint: what sworn witnesses and statements it claims to contain
The initial complaint filed April 26, 2016, lists “material witnesses” and states that “Tiffany Doe, a former trusted employee of the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, has agreed to provide sworn testimony in this civil case and any other future civil or criminal proceedings, fully verifying the authenticity of the claims of the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson” [1]. The complaint also recounts alleged events involving another minor identified in the pleading as “Maria Doe,” and describes those allegations as part of the plaintiff’s factual narrative [1]. Those passages are part of the filed complaint text, which functions as the plaintiff’s sworn allegations but does not itself include standalone affidavits from third parties attached as separate sworn declarations in the publicly available complaint document [1].
2. Docket items beyond the complaint: procedural filings and declarations
The case docket on CourtListener records a Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and a “Declaration in Support” filed by the plaintiff, indicating the presence of a sworn financial declaration by Katie Johnson in the docketed paperwork [2]. CourtListener’s docket page lists routine administrative entries such as notices of assignment and court‑directed ADR notices, which confirm the complaint’s filing and follow‑on procedural materials but do not, in the publicly available docket summary, show separately filed third‑party affidavits uploaded as discrete docket entries [2].
3. Where to read the filings: primary public repositories
The full complaint text is available as an archived file on Archive.org where the complaint pages and the language identifying material witnesses appear in the public text capture [1]. CourtListener’s case docket provides an index of docket entries for 5:16‑cv‑00797 and is a primary access point for the PACER‑sourced docket summary [2]. Download mirrors and reproductions of the complaint and associated documents can also be found on Plainsite, Scribd and SlideShare, which host user‑uploaded copies of the complaint and docket materials [3] [4] [5]. The Internet Archive’s case docket page mirrors PACER docket listings as well and can be used to locate document numbers and download links [6].
4. Limits of the public record and contested reporting
Available public filings do not include, at least in the mirrored public archives cited here, independent sworn affidavits from third parties attached as separate, stand‑alone declarations beyond the plaintiff’s in‑forma‑pauperis declaration; instead, the complaint itself asserts that certain witnesses “have agreed to provide sworn testimony” [1] [2]. Media coverage later contested the credibility of the allegations: for example, DailyMail reported that the woman behind the Johnson filings had “fabricated” her story, reflecting a competing narrative in press reporting but not a court order dismissing the factual assertions within the complaint in the public docket excerpts provided [7]. The sources consulted do not establish that separate, court‑filed affidavits from “Tiffany Doe” or other named pseudonymous witnesses are available in the public docket copies reviewed here [1] [2].
5. How to verify further and where to look next
To verify whether the docket later appended sworn witness declarations or deposition transcripts, researchers should consult the PACER docket for 5:16‑cv‑00797 which feeds public mirrors like CourtListener and the Internet Archive and may contain later entries not captured in third‑party mirrors [2] [6]; additional copies or redacted filings sometimes appear on platforms like Plainsite, Scribd and Archive.org where the complaint and associated paperwork were mirrored [3] [4] [1]. Where assertions in media coverage conflict with court records, the primary source is the PACER/court docket and the actual filed documents available via CourtListener/Archive.org rather than secondary news accounts [2] [1] [7].