Has Katie Johnson filed a sworn affidavit in court and where can it be accessed?

1. What the court records actually show — filings, dismissals, and case numbers

Federal docket records show a complaint filed under case number 5:16-cv-00797 in April 2016 and related filings in other federal dockets later that year; those dockets list Katie Johnson (a pseudonym used in press and filings) as plaintiff and Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein as defendants. The record indicates the Southern California and Southern District of New York matters were initiated in 2016 and were terminated or voluntarily dismissed by late 2016, with at least one docket entry explicitly noting termination after an in forma pauperis request was denied ^{[1] [3]}. These entries confirm there were court papers filed, but docket summary lines alone do not always indicate whether each filing was a sworn affidavit, a complaint, or another type of submission ^{[3] [1]}.

2. Is there a sworn affidavit by Katie Johnson in the public record?

Available secondary accounts and docket summaries show that at least one plaintiff declaration—filed under a pseudonym in a related New York complaint in October 2016—was presented as a declaration made under penalty of perjury, which legally functions as a sworn affidavit in federal practice. That declaration was part of Case 1:16-cv-07673-RA and is available in the court record for that filing, indicating sworn statements did appear in at least one related case ^[2]. However, the West Coast docket (5:16-cv-00797) summaries do not by themselves display a standalone sworn affidavit attached in the public summary; to confirm whether a particular document is a sworn affidavit, one must inspect the actual PDF of the filing through PACER or RECAP ^{[4] [5]}.

3. Where can you access the documents — PACER, RECAP, CourtListener and media mirrors

The authoritative path to obtain these filings is PACER, the federal courts’ electronic records system; documents there are downloadable for a per-page fee and may include complaints, declarations, and affidavits ^[5]. CourtListener and the RECAP archive can mirror PACER documents when users have deposited them; CourtListener lists parties and docket entries for 5:16-cv-00797 but does not itself host every underlying PDF unless RECAP has captured it ^[3]. Some media organizations and legal sites have reproduced complaint text or uploaded PDFs (for example, FactCheck and Law360 excerpted or linked to complaint text), but those reproductions may be partial and are secondary to the official docket ^{[4] [6]}.

4. What reliable reporting and filings add — declarations, pseudonyms, and witness statements

Court filings and contemporaneous reporting show that plaintiffs used pseudonyms (e.g., Katie Johnson, Jane Doe) and that declarations from alleged witnesses—such as a "Tiffany Doe" in the New York filing—were included to corroborate allegations. Those declarations in the October 2016 New York filing were explicitly pled as sworn declarations and contain graphic allegations; they were incorporated into the public court record of that case ^[2]. News outlets and legal summaries reproduced complaint narratives and cited these sworn statements, but the cases were dismissed or voluntarily withdrawn, and the allegations were therefore not adjudicated to a final judgment on the merits ^{[7] [1]}.

5. Divergent interpretations, access limits, and agendas to watch

Documents and summaries circulating in media and advocacy outlets often emphasize the sensational allegations; legal databases and court summaries emphasize procedural outcomes (dismissals, termination) and do not by themselves validate factual claims ^{[4] [1]}. Some secondary websites present the complaint text as definitive evidence, while court logs and PACER focus on filing types and procedural posture. Researchers should be aware that media reproductions may omit attachments or declarations and that PACER/RECAP access is the only way to inspect original PDFs reliably; these access constraints can shape public perceptions and may be exploited by actors seeking to amplify or suppress elements of the record ^{[5] [6]}.

6. Bottom line — what you can do right now to verify the affidavit question

To confirm whether Katie Johnson personally signed a sworn affidavit and to retrieve it, search the relevant case numbers (5:16-cv-00797 and 1:16-cv-07673) on PACER and CourtListener and request the underlying PDFs; use the RECAP/PACER fee waiver options or purchase individual documents if necessary ^{[5] [3]}. Secondary reproductions (FactCheck, Law360, and news archives) can provide context and excerpts but should not substitute for inspecting the signed declaration in the court docket if your goal is to verify exact wording, signature, and the legal formality ^{[4] [6]}.