Federal prosecutors have reportedly been investigating allegations against Vince McMahon including sex trafficking, abuse and more.
On January 25, allegations were made against McMahon in a lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant – you can read the full suit below. This was of course not the first time sexual misconduct allegations had been made against McMahon.
Today, February 1, the Wall Street Journal reports that federal prosecutors in New York “in recent months” have been interviewing women who have accused McMahon of sexual misconduct.
McMahon has denied Grant’s allegations and claimed the federal investigation “won’t find wrongdoing”.
The WSJ writes:
Over the summer, federal agents executed a search warrant for McMahon’s phone and delivered a subpoena to him for documents related to any allegation of “rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, commercial sex transaction, harassment or discrimination” against current or former WWE employees.
The grand jury subpoena, described to The Wall Street Journal, offers the first window into the investigation, which began in 2022. The Journal reported in 2022 that McMahon had made payouts to several women who accused him of sexual misconduct while he was CEO and that prosecutors were investigating the payouts. The subpoena also sought communications between McMahon and these women, including Grant.
Grant and at least four of the women named in the grand jury subpoena had entered into settlement agreements with McMahon over allegations of sexual misconduct. Prosecutors have interviewed some of the women, the people (“familiar with the investigation”) said.
As well as Janel Grant, the other women named in the grand jury subpoena are said to include:
“A WWE contractor whom McMahon allegedly sent unsolicited nude photos and sexually harassed; a former WWE wrestler who said McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex; former WWE referee Rita Chatterton, who publicly accused McMahon of raping her; a spa manager who said McMahon assaulted her at a Southern California resort; and a former WWE employee who alleged the head of talent relations at the company at the time, John Laurinaitis, demoted her after she broke off an affair with him.”
Laurinaitis was also named as a defendant in Grant’s lawsuit.
Laurinaitis’ lawyer has since claimed that Laurinaitis was another victim of McMahon.
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